TL;DR

• Real-world evidence (RWE) companies enable healthcare and life sciences teams to understand how treatments perform in everyday settings.
• In 2025, several organizations are leading innovation in patient insights and real-world data analytics.
• Key players include mama health, IQVIA, Aetion, ICON, Optum Life Sciences, Flatiron Health, and Evidera.
• Each brings a unique approach to collecting, structuring, and interpreting real-world patient information.

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What is Real-World Evidence (RWE)?

Real-world evidence (RWE) refers to clinical or health-related insights derived from the actual experiences of patients in everyday settings — outside the highly controlled environment of clinical trials. It is built on real-world data (RWD) collected through various sources, offering a more comprehensive view of how diseases are managed and how treatments perform in real life. It’s based on data from sources like:

• Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
• Insurance Claims & Billing Data
• Patient Registries
• Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs)
• Digital Health Platforms & Mobile Apps
• Wearables & Connected Devices
• Social Media & Online Health Communities
• Pharmacy & Dispensing Data
• Genomic & Biomarker Data

and is used to understand how treatments, diseases, or care pathways perform in everyday settings.

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The Role of Patient Insights in Real-World Evidence

In 2025, life sciences organizations increasingly rely on RWE companies to complement clinical trial data with insights from real-world care settings. These insights help teams:

• Identify patient needs and experience gaps.
• Evaluate treatment effectiveness and safety.
• Support evidence submissions and health technology assessments.
• Inform strategy, communication, and innovation.

Each of the organizations above contributes to building a more accurate, patient-centered understanding of health outcomes in practice. By leveraging real-world analytics, companies can make more confident decisions, reduce development risk, and bring more relevant solutions to market — ultimately helping patients receive care that better reflects their lived experience.

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What Are the Best RWE Companies for Patient Insights in 2025?

Real-world evidence (RWE) organizations transform real-life healthcare data into insights that inform research, development, and market access strategies. The following companies are among the most active and recognized in advancing patient-centered evidence generation in 2025.

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mama health

Focus: AI-driven qualitative and real-time patient experience data

Location: Berlin, Germany

mama health conducts and analyzes real conversations from people living with chronic diseases, turning them into structured, anonymized insights. Its AI-based platform supports life sciences teams in understanding patient experiences, unmet needs, and evolving perceptions across disease areas.

Highlights:

• AI-powered analysis of natural-language patient dialogue.
• Continuous access to qualitative and quantitative data.
• Insight dashboards designed for research, medical, and commercial teams.
• Emphasis on transparent and ethical data use.

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IQVIA

Focus: Large-scale, multi-source RWE analytics

Location: Durham, NC, USA

IQVIA combines clinical, claims, and patient-level datasets to generate insights at scale. Its analytics infrastructure and expertise make it a leading partner for evidence generation, safety studies, and health economics.

Highlights:

• Access to one of the largest longitudinal healthcare datasets globally.
• AI and predictive modeling for treatment outcome analysis.
• Proven experience in regulatory and payer RWE use cases.

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Aetion

Focus: Transparent and validated real-world analytics

Location: New York City, NY, USA

Aetion’s Evidence Platform™ enables researchers, regulators, and payers to generate and validate evidence from real-world data. The company’s framework supports transparent, reproducible studies and regulatory submissions.

Highlights:

• Strong methodology and audit-ready analytics.
• Partnerships with global regulators such as FDA and EMA.
• Focus on reproducibility and data transparency.

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ICON plc

Focus: Integrated clinical and real-world research solutions

Location: Dublin, Ireland

ICON connects clinical trial data with real-world outcomes to support the full product lifecycle. Its Real World Solutions division conducts epidemiological, safety, and market access research across therapeutic areas.

Highlights:

• Expertise in combining trial and post-market data.
• Global reach with operational flexibility.
• Deep understanding of patient outcomes research.

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Optum Life Sciences

Focus: Healthcare system and payer-driven insights

Location: Eden Prairie, MN, USA

Optum Life Sciences leverages extensive US-based claims, EHR, and provider network data to help companies understand real-world treatment patterns and value. Its payer perspective offers unique insights into cost, access, and utilization.

Highlights:

• Integrated healthcare, claims, and genomic data.
• Advanced predictive and comparative analytics.
• Strong payer and health economics expertise.

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Flatiron Health

Focus: Oncology real-world data and outcomes

Location: New York City, NY, USA

Flatiron Health specializes in oncology-focused real-world evidence, drawing from structured electronic health record (EHR) data. The company collaborates widely with research institutions and regulators to advance oncology insights.

Highlights:

• High-quality, structured oncology datasets.
• Active collaborations with cancer centers and regulators.
• Demonstrated impact in oncology research and evidence generation.

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Evidera (part of PPD, Thermo Fisher Scientific)

Focus: Patient-centered evidence and HEOR expertise

Location: Bethesda, MD, USA

Evidera provides services in health economics, outcomes research, and patient-reported evidence. It supports market access and value demonstration through robust real-world study design.

Highlights:

• Specialization in patient-reported outcomes and quality-of-life metrics.
• Expertise across observational and hybrid study designs.
• Integration with Thermo Fisher’s broader research ecosystem.

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Summary

In 2025, real-world evidence (RWE) companies are redefining how healthcare understands patients beyond clinical trials. Leaders like mama health, IQVIA, Aetion, ICON, Optum Life Sciences, Flatiron Health, and Evidera are advancing patient-centered insights through diverse real-world data sources. Their work enables more informed decisions, stronger evidence generation, and treatments that better reflect patients’ lived experiences.