NEW YORK — Health data platform Datavant announced plans to acquire Aetion, a leading real-world evidence (RWE) company, in a deal that aims to transform how healthcare and life sciences organizations generate high-quality, scalable insights from connected, privacy-protected data.
The acquisition will bring together Datavant’s robust health data exchange network with Aetion’s advanced analytics platform to create a comprehensive, end-to-end RWE solution. The combined company will offer services spanning data discovery, linkage, privacy, curation, and analysis, enabling life sciences clients to evaluate the real-world impact of therapies across their full lifecycle—from development through post-market monitoring.
“This is a natural next step in Datavant’s growth,” said Kyle Armbrester, CEO of Datavant. “Our life sciences and healthcare partners have increasingly asked for more advanced capabilities to unify disparate data sources and create longitudinal views of patient health. By adding Aetion’s scientific and technological expertise, we’re positioned to deliver validated, transparent real-world evidence that supports better decisions and better outcomes.”
The deal combines two powerhouses in the health data sector. Datavant is widely used for secure, privacy-compliant data exchange across the healthcare ecosystem, while Aetion’s platform is known for its ability to produce scientifically rigorous evidence accepted by global regulators, including the FDA and EMA. The merger will allow clients to more efficiently analyze complex datasets, generate decision-grade evidence, and reduce time to insight.
Aetion’s contributions will also enhance Datavant’s existing offerings, including Datavant Connect, a cloud-based data discovery and evaluation tool powered by AWS Clean Rooms. Aetion’s platform adds further depth to Connect by improving privacy controls and offering analytics-ready datasets through the AWS Marketplace.
In conjunction with the acquisition, Aetion also announced the launch of Aetion Activate, a new software product designed to support collaborative, auditable, and secure research environments. The platform is built to serve both code and no-code users, automating data preparation and allowing data scientists and biostatisticians to focus on advanced analysis.
Jeremy Rassen, CEO of Aetion, said the deal represents a significant advancement in the shared mission of both companies. “By joining forces with Datavant, we’re creating a more connected and actionable health data ecosystem. Together, we can better answer the critical questions in healthcare—what treatments work, for whom, and at what cost.”
Following the close of the transaction, the combined organization will work with more than 300 data partners, encompassing electronic health records, claims, lab results, imaging, pharmacy data, and social determinants of health. The integration will offer these partners enhanced visibility into the utility of their data, while expanding use cases across a broader base of life sciences clients.
The deal underscores a growing trend in healthcare: the push to harness real-world data not just for research, but for real-time decision-making across clinical development, regulatory submissions, commercial strategy, and patient care.
