IQVIA has seen a big jump in revenue for the fourth quarter as it continues to steer around pandemic roadblocks.
The contract research organization, which has been running trials for the AstraZeneca-University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine program, saw revenue up 12.2% at constant currency rates in the fourth quarter with its research and development solutions unit seeing revenue jump to $1.68 billion, a growth of 13.2% at constant currency rates on the year-ago period.
The CRO had guided the fourth quarter as the quarter to watch out for, but the drag of the pandemic still inevitably hit its business for the full year: Revenue for the past 12 months hit $11.35 billion, a growth of just 2.3% at constant currency rates when compared to 2019.
Research and development solutions revenue was also down for the year, hitting $5.76 billion, a decrease of 0.7% at constant currency rates, and comes as the CRO, like almost every other company across the industry, was hit by pandemic restrictions at trial sites, leading to stoppages and slowdowns.
But it is still clawing its way back: Research and development solutions revenue in the third quarter was just $4.07 billion, a drop of 5.4% on the first nine months of 2019, putting the expected fourth-quarter boost into perspective and helping shore up some of the losses seen in previous quarters.
At the start of the year, the company predicted full-year 2020 sales between $11.7 billion and $12 billion. This guidance was lowered to $10.6 billion to $10.9 billion back in the first quarter.
But the yo-yo kept bobbing, and, in the third quarter, IQVIA slightly upped its guidance from $11 billion to $11.1 billion in the last quarter up to $11.1 billion to $11.25 billion. Hitting $11.35 billion went over the latest optimistic forecast and again shows the CRO’s bouncing back.
It’s also upping its guidance for 2021, predicting revenue to be between $12.55 billion and $12.9 billion, up from the $12.3 billion to $12.6 billion it originally forecast.
“We closed 2020 with a strong quarter, delivering double-digit growth across all key financial metrics versus what had been a very strong fourth quarter in 2019, once again exceeding our financial targets,” said Ari Bousbib, chairman and CEO of IQVIA.
“As expected, R&DS recovered sharply and TAS continued to build on its strong momentum, with both segments reporting mid-teens revenue growth in the quarter. The key markets we serve remain robust and our new business wins in these markets continue to accelerate. As a result of this performance, and the solid momentum we are seeing, we are raising our 2021 financial guidance.”