U.K. drug maker AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) has struck a deal with a health-care consultancy to gain further information on how its drugs are faring on the market and in hospitals, reflecting a growing need for pharmaceutical companies to prove the cost-efficiency of their products to cash-strapped governments. The U.K.'s No. 2 drug maker said the three-year venture with U.S.-based IMS Health will give it access to electronic health records, which include clinical outcome, economic and treatment pattern data. The companies will also jointly develop a customized research and data analysis platform. No financial terms were disclosed. AstraZeneca has a similar relationship in the U.S. with HealthCore, the health outcomes research subsidiary of health insurer WellPoint Inc. (WLP).
