Veeva Systems' IPO, New Data Product Reinforce Leadership in Life Sciences Cloud

By Nicole Zaro Stahl, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Hacienda's Veeva Systems reached a momentous landmark on October 16. For CEO Peter Gassner and fellow members of the leadership team, along with a few early investors, the day started with a ceremonious breakfast in an historic board room of the New York Stock Exchange. Afterward, the group proceeded to the gallery above the trading floor to ring the 9:30 am opening bell. There, under the ticker symbol VEEV, the company's stock made its market debut, climbing from an initial $20 a share to $37.16, for a total valuation of more than $2.4 billion by the 4:00 pm close.

The market response was both humbling and gratifying, says Gassner, who with three co-founders started the company in 2007. The hefty gain was a sign that the market recognizes "the profound impact Veeva is making on the worldwide life sciences industry and appreciates that we are running a tight ship. We are high growth and profitable, and we didn't raise an unreasonable amount of money - under $10 million-to get here."

The IPO came on the heels of the announced release of the Veeva Network customer master solution, the latest addition to its portfolio of cloud-based software that helps life sciences companies operate more effectively by managing content, enhancing collaboration, streamlining the sales process, and boosting compliance.

Veeva Network signals a new role for the company as a data provider. The product is a massive directory of worldwide healthcare providers - essentially, its customers' customers, ranging from individual nurses and physicians to clinics, hospitals, and affiliated organizations. It compiles granular details about each entry - contacts, office locations and hours, licenses, specialties, etc. - in a single uniform repository that allows customers to bypass the arduous task of building and maintaining their own databases. The simplified access to these digital profiles is truly game-changing for the life sciences industry, Gassner points out. "The database is at the center of what our customers do. For example, it allows them to convey important information on new medications they've developed so physicians can make the right prescribing decisions for optimal patient care."

Planned since the company's inception, Veeva Network took several years of "quite sophisticated" data collection to build. "There are millions of doctors in almost 200 different countries in the world," Gassner says. "Large life sciences companies can't operate without knowing who their customers are. By centralizing that information, we make them more efficient so they can concentrate on higher value-added services and new products to bring to market." The database will be available by subscription, initially for the United States and China, with other countries to follow.

Despite the billowing life sciences industry cloud, Veeva remains very down-to-earth in its approach to continued growth. "We have new employees to hire, new products to build, and new value to bring to our customers," Gassner relates. "Going public won't change Veeva. It is a boost to our business, giving us more visibility, but it does not change the core of what we do."

For more information, visit www.veevasystems.com.

Photo: Veeva Systems' executive team rang in trading on the NYSE on October 16, the day of the company's initial public offering. (Courtesy of Veeva Systems)

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