QuintilesIMS Rebrands as IQVIA

Thirty-five years after its founding in 1982, Durham-based QuintilesIMS has retired its name for a new one, IQVIA (pronounced as “I-Q-via”).

Shares of IQVIA will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol IQV, effective Nov. 15.

“Today is a defining moment for our organization as we introduce a new name that aligns with our vision to help stakeholders drive healthcare forward,” IQVIA Chairman and CEO Ari Bousbib said in a news release.

IQVIA is the world’s largest contract research organization, based on reported revenue of nearly $6.9 billion in 2016. The company provides information, technology and research services to help pharmaceutical companies conduct drug clinical trials and to support other “molecule-to-market” functions of healthcare clients.  

Quintiles merged with IMS Health in 2016 to become QuintilesIMS. The $17.6 billion merger formed a company that employs about 55,000 people in more than 100 countries.

“Since the merger, we’ve worked to integrate our capabilities in advanced analytics, leading technologies and therapeutic expertise into powerful, differentiated offerings,” Bousbib said. “Our vision is to outpace the inevitable progress of change across the life sciences and accelerate our ability to empower healthcare decision makers to meet the future head on.”

IQVIA’s clients include biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare stakeholders. The company says it uses data and science to help these clients “tap into a deeper understanding of diseases, human behaviors and scientific advances, in an effort to advance their path toward cures.”