IQVIA subsidiary Q2 Solutions exits NC deal that had promised 749 jobs in Durham
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Q2 Solutions exited NC incentive deals after missing job and investment targets.
- The company created 179 jobs, far below its 749-job pledge by 2027.
- North Carolina paid no grant funds as Q2 failed to meet performance benchmarks.
The clinical trial lab services provider Q2 Solutions has fallen short of its commitment to create nearly 750 jobs and invest $73 million in Research Triangle Park.
A subsidiary of IQVIA, Q2 (pronounced “Q two” or “Q squared”) informed North Carolina officials in a June 26 letter it would leave a pair of 6-year-old North Carolina incentive agreements after it failed to meet the grants’ hiring and spending requirements.
“We are truly disappointed in having to terminate the Agreements,” IQVIA Laboratories President David Morris wrote to the N.C. Economic Investment Committee, which voted to end the grants during a meeting Tuesday.
In November 2019, Q2 Solutions received separate job development investment grants, or JDIGs, to expand its lab space in south Durham. Across two phases, the company projected to create 749 jobs by 2027. State records show Q2 has so far added 179 jobs and retained 273 local employees through its first grant, with no hiring information included under the second grant.
Despite the cancellations, Morris told state officials Q2 still intends to grow its local headcount over the next three years.
Q2 was eligible to receive up to $9.8 million in payroll tax benefits had the company achieved its hiring and spending targets. State data shows North Carolina has not distributed any taxpayer money from these grants. Durham County chipped in $950,000 across the two grants, to be paid only if the grant criteria was reached.
Most state-funded jobs projects have not met their initial hiring goals since North Carolina launched its job development investment grant program in 2003, an N&O analysis shows.
IQVIA commits to increase NC headcount
At the time Q2 announced its expansion, the company was jointly owned by the major Durham clinical research company IQVIA and the medical testing firm Quest Diagnostics. In 2021, IQVIA acquired Quest’s share and became Q2’s sole parent company.
IQVIA is the 12th largest employer in Durham County, state records show, and the company says it has around 4,000 workers statewide.
It formed in 2016 when the pharmaceutical data provider IMS Health combined with the clinical research organization Quintiles. Since then, the company has acquired more than 10 pharmaceutical services businesses, helping propel its global headcount from 36,100 workers in 2016 to around 88,000 today.
“Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have long been a vehicle for life sciences industry growth,” IQVIA wrote in a 2021 paper, noting that it offers bigger companies pipelines to growth and smaller companies attractive exits. In its latest annual report, IQVIA noted these business combinations come with “expected synergies.”
Q2 Solutions has conducted at least two rounds of layoffs since IQVIA took full ownership, affected employees have told The N&O, including a small staff reduction in August. IQVIA at the time said these staffing decisions did not represent “mass layoffs.”
In an emailed statement Tuesday, IQVIA said it “remains committed to our operations in North Carolina and anticipates the number of IQVIA employees and our investments in North Carolina will continue to grow.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
