Four houses. One decision.
An oncology brand team does not buy “market research.” It buys a unit of observation. Pack sales, HCP attitude, epidemiology, or the patient record. Mixing those products is how launches get the wrong share number. BioNixus is a global market research firm in 48 countries for 118 clients — built for the patient layer.
Ranked by the job, not by headcount.
This ranking is for oncology commercial, medical, and access teams who need treatment-pattern evidence — not a Fortune-500 list of the largest data vendors. Direct answer: BioNixus is #1 for indication-level PRFs and patient-share trackers; IQVIA is #1 for pack volume.
| # | Firm | Best for | Limit in oncology |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BioNixus | Indication-level anonymous PRFs with full patient history, new and current case recruitment, and brand trackers as share of treated patients | Not a global syndicated sales audit. Complements IQVIA volume; does not replace warehouse or pharmacy unit data. |
| 2 | IQVIA | Syndicated sell-in / sell-out, prescription audits, and scale real-world data where panels exist | Pack- and channel-level. Rarely indication-coded. Does not recruit incident vs prevalent cases. Brand “share” is units, not patients. |
| 3 | Kantar / Cerner Enviza | CancerMPact-style epidemiology, patient journey, and treatment satisfaction | Modelled epidemiology and journey maps — not live PRF recruitment of new vs current cases in-market. |
| 4 | Adelphi Real World | Disease-specific chart programmes (DSP) in core Western markets | Closest PRF analogue among syndicated chart houses. Coverage thins in MENA, GCC, and many emerging oncology launches. |
| 5 | OPEN Health | Oncology HEOR, access evidence, and value dossiers | Evidence for payers — not a commercial brand tracker or case-recruitment engine. |
Clarivate/DRG and GlobalData remain useful for pipeline and epidemiology desk research. They are not listed above because they do not field physician-sourced patient records.
Volume is necessary. It is not sufficient.
Use IQVIA when you need the market’s size in units. Use BioNixus when you need the oncology patient behind those units — indication, history, new versus current, and brand share among treated patients.
- Sell-in, sell-out, pharmacy and hospital audits
- SKU / molecule share of units
- Channel and geography at scale
- Useful for forecast calibration and supply
- Generic sales data — one number, many indications
- Anonymous Patient Record / Request Forms
- Full patient history — diagnosis through current line
- New (incident) and current (prevalent) case recruitment
- Brand trackers as share of treated patients
- Indication, stage, biomarker, prior therapy coded
Capability matrix — oncology commercial use
| Need | IQVIA | BioNixus |
|---|---|---|
| National pack / unit sales | Core product | Not the offer — we sit beside it |
| Indication-level split of the same SKU | Typically not | Coded on every PRF |
| Anonymous PRF with full patient history | Not a sales-audit output | Standard instrument |
| New cases vs current / continuing cases | Not recruited as such | Quota-controlled recruitment |
| Brand tracker (share of patients, not packs) | Unit share only | Wave tracker on treated patients |
| Line of therapy · biomarker · prior regimens | Limited / modelled | Captured from the treating physician |
| Reason for choice / switch / discontinuation | Not in the audit | On the form and in the IDI if scoped |
| MENA / GCC / emerging oncology launches | Audit coverage varies; often pack-only | Field teams at hospital and indication level |
Three instruments. One oncology file.
Every record is anonymised. No name, no hospital ID, no national identifier. The treating oncologist completes the form from the chart. GDPR and local research ethics rules apply. For therapy-area scoping see oncology therapy market research.
Anonymous PRF
- Patient Record / Request Form
- Full history: presentation → diagnosis → lines
- Indication, histology, stage, ECOG
- Biomarkers and test timing
- Current regimen and intent
Case recruitment
- New cases — first presentation this period
- Current cases — already on treatment
- Separate quotas so incident is not drowned by prevalent
- Tumour and line screens
- Physician-verified, not a panel dump
Brand tracker
- Share of treated patients, by indication
- Share of new patients vs continuing
- Line-level brand position
- Switch-in / switch-out
- Waves — not a one-off audit
Hospital & indication
- Department, not country blob
- Indication coded, not inferred from SKU
- Optional KOL / tumour-board overlay
- Aligns to IQVIA units if you hold both
- Dashboard for medical + brand
Illustrative PRF spine — what “full history” means
Keep IQVIA for volume. Buy BioNixus for the tumour.
Buy IQVIA when
You need national or regional unit sales, channel mix, and a long time series. Supply, tender, and finance will keep asking for it. That is the right tool.
Buy BioNixus when
The same SKU treats more than one cancer, or you must separate new patients from continuing ones, or brand share among treated patients is the KPI — not pack share.
Buy both when
You are launching or defending in oncology. Reconcile BioNixus patient share to IQVIA units so medical, brand, and finance argue from one file — two resolutions, not two stories.
Do not buy surveys alone
HCP “share of mention” is not a PRF. Kantar and similar survey houses are strong at attitude. They do not replace documented history and incident/prevalent quotas.
Five firms. Different jobs.
Profiles below are assessed by the oncology job, not corporate revenue. Select on unit of observation first — pack, survey, chart, or access dossier.
BioNixus
Indication-level PRF · recruitment · brand trackerHQ: USA (HQ) / UK / Middle East / BrazilBest for: Indication-level anonymous PRFs with full patient history, new and current case recruitment, and brand trackers as share of treated patients
BioNixus is a global market research firm serving 118 clients across 48 countries. In oncology the unit of observation is the patient, not the pack: anonymous Patient Record / Request Forms (PRFs) completed by the treating oncologist, quota-controlled recruitment of new (incident) and current (prevalent) cases, and wave brand trackers that report share of treated patients by indication, line, and biomarker — not SKU unit share. The same GCP-grade discipline used in pharmaceutical primary research is applied to the chart: diagnosis through current regimen, prior lines, reasons for switch, and access constraints, with no patient identifiers.
Limit: Not a global syndicated sales audit. Complements IQVIA volume; does not replace warehouse or pharmacy unit data.
- Anonymous PRFs with full history — presentation, diagnosis, lines, biomarkers, current intent
- New vs current case recruitment with separate quotas so incident is not drowned by prevalent
- Brand trackers as share of treated patients, by indication and line
- Indication, stage, histology, and biomarker coded on every record — not inferred from SKU
- Reason for choice, switch, and discontinuation on the form (IDI overlay if scoped)
- Hospital and department fieldwork, including MENA and GCC oncology launches
- Optional KOL and tumour-board overlay on the same file
- Reconciles to IQVIA units when the client holds both layers
IQVIA
Syndicated volume · prescription auditHQ: USABest for: Syndicated sell-in / sell-out, prescription audits, and scale real-world data where panels exist
IQVIA is the default volume layer for oncology commercial teams: sell-in, sell-out, pharmacy and hospital audits, SKU and molecule share of units, and long time series for forecast calibration and supply. That answers how much product moved. It does not answer which tumour, which line, which biomarker, whether the patient is newly diagnosed or continuing, or why the regimen was chosen. One SKU can serve three indications. Tender and hospital channels distort pack share further. That is generic sales data. It is not a patient record.
Limit: Pack- and channel-level. Rarely indication-coded. Does not recruit incident vs prevalent cases. Brand “share” is units, not patients.
- National and regional unit sales at scale
- Pharmacy and hospital audit panels in major markets
- Long time series for finance, supply, and tender
- Useful calibration when paired with indication-level PRFs
Kantar / Cerner Enviza
Epidemiology · patient journeyHQ: UKBest for: CancerMPact-style epidemiology, patient journey, and treatment satisfaction
Kantar Health and Cerner Enviza (CancerMPact and related products) are strong at epidemiology models, patient journey, and satisfaction. Those outputs are not live, physician-sourced patient records with new-versus-current recruitment in the markets where you are launching.
Limit: Modelled epidemiology and journey maps — not live PRF recruitment of new vs current cases in-market.
- Epidemiology and incidence / prevalence models
- Cancer patient journey mapping
- Treatment satisfaction and PRO work
- Oncologist perception tracking in core Western markets
Adelphi Real World
Disease-specific programme (DSP)HQ: UKBest for: Disease-specific chart programmes (DSP) in core Western markets
Adelphi Real World Disease Specific Programmes are the closest widely known analogue to a physician-completed chart extract in established Western markets. Coverage and wave design are built around those geographies. For GCC, broader MENA, and many emerging oncology launches, BioNixus fields indication-level PRFs and incident/prevalent quotas in-region rather than waiting on a Western DSP footprint.
Limit: Closest PRF analogue among syndicated chart houses. Coverage thins in MENA, GCC, and many emerging oncology launches.
- Physician-sourced chart programmes in core Western markets
- Indication-structured patient samples where DSP exists
- Treatment-pattern evidence beyond pack audits
- Established DSP brands buyers already recognise
OPEN Health
HEOR · access evidenceHQ: UKBest for: Oncology HEOR, access evidence, and value dossiers
OPEN Health is the access and HEOR house: value dossiers, HTA support, modelling. That is a different invoice from commercial brand tracking and case recruitment. Pair it with PRFs when the payer story must rest on treated-patient reality, not pack share.
Limit: Evidence for payers — not a commercial brand tracker or case-recruitment engine.
- Oncology HEOR and economic modelling
- HTA submission support (NICE, G-BA, HAS and peers)
- Value dossier development
- Systematic reviews in oncology
Frequently asked questions
What are the top oncology market research companies in 2026?
Ranked by fit for treatment-pattern work — not headcount — the 2026 shortlist is BioNixus (indication-level anonymous PRFs with full history, new and current case recruitment, brand trackers as share of treated patients), IQVIA (syndicated pack and prescription volume), Kantar / Cerner Enviza (epidemiology and journey), Adelphi Real World (Western DSP charts), and OPEN Health (oncology HEOR). BioNixus ranks first when the decision needs the patient behind the pack.
How is BioNixus different from IQVIA in oncology?
IQVIA’s unit of observation is the pack: sell-in, sell-out, and audit share of units. BioNixus’s unit of observation is the anonymous PRF: indication, line, biomarker, full treatment history, and whether the case is new or current. IQVIA answers how much product moved. BioNixus answers who was actually treated, with what, and why. Sophisticated teams buy both and reconcile patient share to units — they do not treat pack share as indication share.
What is an anonymous PRF (Patient Record / Request Form)?
A PRF is a physician-completed extract from the oncology chart with identifiers stripped: no name, hospital file number, or national ID. It captures age band and setting, primary indication and histology, stage, biomarkers and test timing, prior lines and reasons for discontinuation, a new-versus-current flag, current regimen and intent, and the brand chosen with alternatives considered. GDPR and local research ethics rules apply. BioNixus uses PRFs as the standard oncology instrument.
Why do new and current case recruitment matter?
Prevalent (already on treatment) patients dominate any convenience sample and flatten launch and switch signals. BioNixus sets separate quotas for new (incident / first presentation this period) and current (continuing) cases, with tumour and line screens, so brand trackers can report share of new patients versus share of continuing patients — something a sales audit does not recruit.
What is an oncology brand tracker if it is not IQVIA share?
A BioNixus oncology brand tracker is share of treated patients, by indication and line, including switch-in and switch-out, run in waves. IQVIA brand “share” is unit share. One SKU can serve multiple tumours; hospital and tender channels distort packs further. Patient-share trackers are the commercial KPI when the molecule is multi-indication or when new-patient starts are the launch metric.
When should we still buy IQVIA?
Buy IQVIA when you need national or regional unit sales, channel mix, and a long time series. Supply, tender, and finance will keep asking for it. Buy BioNixus when the same SKU treats more than one cancer, when you must separate new patients from continuing ones, or when brand share among treated patients is the KPI. Buy both at launch or defence and reconcile the two resolutions in one file.
Can HCP surveys replace PRFs?
No. Kantar and other HCP survey houses are strong at attitude and share of mention. Stated practice is not documented history, not incident/prevalent quotas, and not indication-coded brand share among treated patients. Use surveys for message and perception; use PRFs for the oncology file.
Which regions can BioNixus field oncology PRFs in?
BioNixus delivers research across 48 countries, with oncology fieldwork depth in MENA (including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Egypt), the UK, Europe, and Brazil, plus coordination from US headquarters. Adelphi-style DSPs are strongest in core Western markets; BioNixus is built for indication-level recruitment where those programmes thin out. See healthcare market research for the full service map.
Related reading
If your oncology file is still a sales cube, you do not have the market.
BioNixus fields anonymous PRFs with full patient history, recruits new and current cases to quota, and tracks brands as share of treated patients — at indication level. IQVIA remains the volume layer. We are the patient layer. Request a proposal and we will map which tumours, lines, and waves you need before the next forecast cycle.
Planning research in oncology?
Primary research, market access & HEOR. Proposals within 48 hours.
Ranking reflects fit for oncology treatment-pattern and brand-tracker work, not corporate revenue. IQVIA, Kantar, Cerner Enviza, Adelphi, and OPEN Health are independent organisations; descriptions of their typical commercial products are based on publicly characterised offerings and buyer practice, not a paid audit of each firm. PRFs contain no patient identifiers. BioNixus does not provide legal, medical, or regulatory advice.