OptimizeRx, a software company focused on pharma-provider digital health messaging, has completed a $9 million deal to acquire medication adherence and care coordination messaging company CareSpeak Communications, OptimizeRx told MobiHealthNews.
With this deal, OptimizeRx will be able to expand its EHR-embedded messaging platform so that phrama and providers can communicate directly with patients, the company said.
“We are excited about what this acquisition means for our business,” Miriam Paramore, president of OptimizeRx, told MobiHealthNews in an email. “OptimizeRx is committed to bridging the communication gap between pharma, providers and patients. The newly added capabilities that CareSpeak adds to our platform really rounds things out, enabling us to directly communicate with patients about medication reminders, refill notices, side effect management information, and cost-saving copay programs.”
As part of the deal, CareSpeak staff will be retained and continue to work from the company’s Somerset, New Jersey headquarters.
What’s the impact
Poor medication adherence is a longstanding concern in healthcare responsible for poor outcomes, preventable cost and antibiotic resistance. By adding CareSpeak’s patient messaging capabilities to its platform, OptimizeRx sees a chance to reduce these persistent issues.
“Our goal is to minimize [costs] and support greater medication adherence, persistence and affordability — all in the name of quality improvement and value-based care,” Paramore wrote.
Earlier this year, a collaboration between CareSpeak and Avenlla Specialty Pharmacy found that automated patient engagement through CareSpeak’s platform increased the number of days cancer and inflammatory disease patients remained on their therapies. Additionally, a pilot study initiated in 2016 and published the following year suggested a roughly $140 patient-per-month healthcare utilization reduction following four months of platform use.
What’s the trend
OptimizeRx’s most recent earnings call had the company’s revenue up 78 percent to a record $5.1 million, which it primarily attributed to the growth of its core products and increased distribution, and last month announced a new partnership with Medicom Health.
The number of acquisitions such as these have been on the rise as of late, with startups in various niches looking to acquire their competitors or, in this case, take on key features to include in their product.
On the record
“We are excited to join forces with [CareSpeak CEO Serge Loncar] and his team. We see a great cultural fit given our mutual mission to transform communication across the provider-pharma-patient care continuum," William Febbo, CEO of OptimizeRx, said in a statement. "This investment allows us to drive additional opportunities for revenue growth, extending our reach within our existing client base as well as enhancing our digital platform to facilitate more scale.”
