Icon to buy commercialisation and comms firm MediMedia

Icon has agreed to pay $120m for market access company MediMedia.

MediMedia Pharma Soutions provides commercialisation and market access services to pharma companies…

Icon said it bought the smaller firm for its scientific communications capabilities. The bolt-on purchase will be integrated into Icon's existing Commercialisation and Outcomes offering.

The company told Outsourcing-Pharma.com it plans no job cuts.  

Two consultancies in one

MediMedia’s services include MediMedia Managed Markets – “strategic payer-validated market access solutions” – and Complete Healthcare Communications – a scientific communication agency working with pharma companies’ medical affairs, commercial and brand development teams.

Both divisions of MediMedia are “premier global consultancy businesses with strong reputations for excellence in scientific communications and market access solutions,” Elizabeth Thiele, President, Icon Commercialisation and Outcomes, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.

Icon chose the firm as a good fit because of its company’s strategic expertise, and its strong relationships with clinical, payer, and market experts, Thiele told us.

Scientific comms

Icon's head of Commercialisation told us scientific communications are vital in the current market:

There is a growing need for biopharma and medical device companies to demonstrate and communicate the value of new medicines to payers – it is no longer sufficient to only demonstrate safety and efficacy.

Through the acquisition of MediMedia, Icon can take evidence of a product’s value generated from our peri-approval and HEOR studies and implement a communications & publications strategy for our customers to disseminate this evidence to key stakeholders.

Ciaran Murray, Icon CEO, added communicating the value of new medicines “is an important global healthcare trend.

“Through Icon's market leading commercialisation and outcomes group we are supporting our customers to maximise the value of their new drugs. Our acquisition of MediMedia Pharma Solutions deepens the expertise of this group and brings us outstanding scientific and medical communications capabilities."

MediMedia Pharma Solutions is a division of MediMedia USA and is owned by Vestar Capital Partners. It is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania.