The general manager of IMS Health, Zsolt Szepesházi, explains how the current limitations of Hungary’s healthcare system have shifted the way that pharmaceutical companies approach the market, placing a much greater emphasis on value demonstration and patient-level data. You have been General Manager at IMS Health for 8 years. During your tenure, how much has the organization evolved? There have been very dramatic changes in the pharmaceutical industry, and IMS has to be on top of these changes. We must adapt our service portfolio and change the way we are helping our clients. Currently we are building on three pillars; information, technology and services. There is always something new happening at IMS, and this is how we move towards our mission of providing the right insight to the right decision maker at the right time, using our data assets and our industry expertise, and using technology that enables all this. [related_story] You mentioned you had to make several changes to the service portfolio. Is the structure of the portfolio significantly different today than when you joined IMS? In 2008 we were working to expand our capabilities, moving from simply selling data to actually being a trusted business partner. Information and data continues to be a significant element of who we are at IMS, but we are also expanding. We now provide expert level understanding of the details of market dynamics. We advise our clients about their business problems overall. For example, recently pharmaceutical companies are looking more at patients, and it is very important to have the right information when dealing with patient level data. We are able to provide this and companies benefit from our insights. The other important element is technology – in todays environment pharma companies have less time and less resources to make the right decisions, and technology is a key enabler here – to give the right insight to the right decision maker at the right time. In 2011 you mentioned that everyone in the region was struggling in the aftermath of the financial crises. Today, compared to some of your affiliates in the region, how is the Hungarian subsidiary performing? We have managed to show a continuous growth despite some of the difficulties in the industry. It does not mean that we always managed to meet our goals, but our strategy has been correct. By investing in new directions we are managing to provide more and more services to the clients. That is the main growth driver.

There is always something new happening at IMS, and this is how we move towards our mission of providing the right insight to the right decision maker at the right time