IMS Buys Portfolio Strategy Specialist

IMS Health is to buy the Life Sciences practice of US-based Strategic Decisions Group (SDG), which focuses on portfolio strategy consulting for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The move brings IMS the use of SDG's strategic consulting and portfolio integration strength. The firm's Life Sciences practice is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, and has consultants based in New York City, Boston, Houston and London. Its portfolio planning frameworks are widely used to evaluate and implement investment decisions in the sector. Other divisions of SDG will continue as normal.

Ray Hill, General Manager, IMS Global Consulting says the deal will give clients 'a broader range of services and deeper strategic insights earlier in the product development process', plus more efficient implementation with lower risk.

Robin Arnold, CEO of SDG and a leading partner in the Life Sciences Practice, comments: 'We are excited about this opportunity to dramatically increase the value of our services to the pharmaceutical industry'. The union with IMS will mean that 'SDG can now deliver real-time market performance insight to support clients' needs across the entire portfolio planning continuum – from R&D through product maturity.'

Strategic Decisions Group was founded in 1981, has offices in Boston, Houston, London, New York, and Palo Alto, joint ventures in India and Japan, and a web site at www.sdg.com . IMS, which had revenue of $1.8 billion in 2005, is online at www.imshealth.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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