'Evidence 360' will be a new data source for real-world medical data from IMS Health

“Real world evidence” is the term that some in the medical and life sciences arena are using to describe data with the quality of a clinical trial, but the results of actual patients taking medicine or receiving treatment—and with the cost of that healthcare as a cross-reference. IMS Health (Plymouth Meeting, PA) has been a player in this kind of data-gathering for years, through its longitudinal studies, prescription sales data and other resources; now it is taking that type of data gathering a step further with a strategic alliance with Remedy Informatics (Salt Lake City, UT). That company has developed a technology platform, Mosaic, to enable researchers to combine datasets from different databases into meaningful compilations; the company has been working for many years in clinical research, patient registries and related information services.

“’Real world evidence’ is not new to us, but the growing capabilities of data from sources like electronic health records enables a broader and more meaningful analysis of healthcare trends,” says Jon Resnick, VP and GM of the Real World Evidence Solutions group at IMS Health. The combined offering, IMS Evidence 360°, will “enable pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, payers and providers to link and analyze complex healthcare data sets,” and be “a key component of IMS Health’s expanded RWE platform supporting a broad range of applications, from epidemiological studies and comparative effectiveness and safety research, to commercial analytics,” according to IMS.

Resnick notes that in the broad spectrum of healthcare data from clinical trials to observational studies to claims data, pharma and other life sciences companies have had a tough time getting an accurate picture of the ultimate customer: the patient. Evidence 360° is expected to be a solution that will provide pharma companies with the outcomes results that they increasingly need to deliver to payers as justification for the products they sell.