The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation a proposed merger between IMS Health and Quintiles, both of the US.
IMS provides information and technology services to pharmaceutical, biotech, life science and healthcare companies. Quintiles provides product development services and commercial outsourcing services to support healthcare companies develop and commercialize new therapies globally.
The Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns. This is because the overlap between the companies’ activities in the area of collection of data based on actual patient experiences and clinical practice (real word evidence) is very limited in the European Economic Area and a number of strong players will remain active in this market after the merger. In addition, IMS Health does not own or control any database or software, which is unique or indispensable for the provision of services performed by Quintiles and its competitors. The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure.
