After completing its megamerger last year, QuintilesIMS is reportedly looking to sell off some noncore assets and hone its focus. Now, sources tell Reuters the company is weighing a sale of its contract sales business that could be worth up to $1 billion.
QuintilesIMS hired Goldman Sachs to assist with the sale, according to the sources. The talks are early and the sale may not happen, they stressed.
So far, the unit has attracted interest from private equity groups, according to Reuters. QuintilesIMS didn’t immediately respond to a FiercePharma request for comment.
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The deal talks come as pharma increasingly looks to sell its meds through internal teams, putting pressure on contract outfits. Last year, AstraZeneca cut 1,600 contract reps amid a big push to reduce costs. Later in the year, contract reps were among those to lose their work at Endo.
The potential sale also follows last year’s merger between Quintiles and IMS to create a $19 billion technology and information behemoth. Quintiles, the largest CRO, joined with IMS Health to marry the former company’s real-world clinical applications with the latter’s data gathering and analysis.