IMS Health and SAS Establish Global Partnership to Develop Leading-Edge Market Intelligence Solutions for the Pharmaceutical Industry

IMS Health (NYSE: RX), the world's leading provider of informationsolutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, and SAS,the leader in business intelligence, today announced the launch of IMSSales Force Effectiveness Precision Suite(TM), a consulting offeringthat leverages the companies' world-class information, technology,analytics and industry expertise. This new offering helpspharmaceutical marketing and sales executives optimize their salesresources in markets around the world, enabling them to moreeffectively deliver essential product information to the rightprescribers.

IMS Sales Force Effectiveness Precision Suite combines three keycapabilities -- precision segmentation, promotional response andresource optimization -- to help pharmaceutical decision makersdevelop and implement sales strategies uniquely tailored to theircustomers, products and markets. These capabilities are enabledthrough advanced analytics and data integration supported by keyelements of the SAS(R)9 Enterprise Intelligence Platform.

"Segmenting as it is most often done today is largely a myth. Itisn't really targeted; it is a shotgun blast. There isn't enoughuniqueness of the variables or the processes to constitute acompetitive advantage," said Dale Hagemeyer, research director forGartner. "New data inputs and more powerful, more predictive analyticsare required to take segmenting to the next level and gain acompetitive advantage."

Available immediately, IMS Sales Force Effectiveness PrecisionSuite considers each client's unique environment and market events andintegrates the full breadth of IMS information assets, methodologiesand expertise with key client information. The result is a highlytailored and differentiated customer segmentation and sales strategy.Built on SAS' industry-leading enterprise business intelligence (BI)solution, the offering enables clients to work collaboratively toreview and change market assumptions and model new outcomes to meettheir evolving needs.

"We selected SAS as a partner for its world-class technologyplatform and analytics capabilities, as well as its commitment tohelping clients solve their most critical market challenges," saidDavid R. Carlucci, IMS president and chief executive officer. "Thisinnovative offering for sales force effectiveness is the first step inour global alliance. IMS and SAS will develop additional new offeringsthat combine powerful information, analytics and consultingcapabilities to help our clients improve performance across the entirepharmaceutical value chain."

Future joint offerings from IMS and SAS will support keypharmaceutical processes such as portfolio optimization, productlaunch and brand management.

"This partnership between IMS and SAS will produce offerings thatwill take our customers beyond standard decision making," said JimDavis, chief marketing officer at SAS. "By leveraging SAS'long-standing presence in pharmaceutical companies and IMS' experienceand expertise, our joint focus will provide new insights that help tooptimize portfolios, ensure successful launches, manage brands andimprove the effectiveness of sales teams."

SAS Enterprise BI Server will provide the underlying technologyfor the joint offerings from IMS and SAS. A major component of theSAS(R)9 Enterprise Intelligence Platform, SAS Enterprise BI Server isa comprehensive business intelligence solution that empowers users atall levels across an organization with interfaces targeted towardtheir roles and skill levels.

About IMS

Operating in more than 100 countries, IMS Health is the world'sleading provider of information solutions to the pharmaceutical andhealthcare industries. With $1.6 billion in 2004 revenue and more than50 years of industry experience, IMS offers leading-edge businessintelligence products and services that are integral to clients'day-to-day operations, including portfolio optimization capabilities;launch and brand management solutions; sales force effectivenessinnovations; managed care and over-the-counter offerings; andconsulting and services solutions that improve ROI and the delivery ofquality healthcare worldwide. Additional information is available athttp://www.imshealth.com.

About SAS

SAS is the market leader in providing a new generation of businessintelligence software and services that create true enterpriseintelligence. SAS solutions are used at about 40,000 sites --including 96 of the top 100 companies on the FORTUNE Global 500(R) --to develop more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers;to enable better, more accurate and informed decisions; and to driveorganizations forward. SAS is the only vendor that completelyintegrates leading data warehousing, analytics and traditional BIapplications to create intelligence from massive amounts of data. Fornearly three decades, SAS has been giving customers around the worldThe Power to Know(R).

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes statements that may constituteforward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisionsof the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although IMSHealth believes the expectations contained in such forward-lookingstatements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that suchexpectations will prove correct. This information may involve risksand uncertainties that could cause actual results of IMS Health todiffer materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors thatcould cause or contribute to such differences include, but are notlimited to (i) the risks associated with operating on a global basis,including fluctuations in the value of foreign currencies relative tothe U.S. dollar, and the ability to successfully hedge such risks,(ii) to the extent IMS Health seeks growth through acquisitions andjoint ventures, the ability to identify, consummate and integrateacquisitions and joint ventures on satisfactory terms, (iii) theability to develop new or advanced technologies and systems for itsbusinesses on time and on a cost-effective basis, (iv) regulatory,legislative and enforcement initiatives, particularly in the areas ofmedical privacy and tax, (v) to the extent unforeseen cash needsarise, the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, (vi)deterioration in economic conditions, particularly in thepharmaceutical, healthcare or other industries in which IMS Health'scustomers operate, and (vii) the inability, for any reason, toconsummate the merger with VNU, N.V., as expected. Additionalinformation on factors that may affect the business and financialresults of the Company can be found in filings of the Company madefrom time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.