It may have been easy to miss, given the excitement of the quarter’s IPOs, but the third quarter of 2019 was actually a light one for digital health mergers and acquisitions, with just 10 deals — compared to 17 in Q1 and 12 in Q2.
As usual, we’ve ordered acquisitions by price first, then chronologically for the unknown terms — which is most of them. It’s worth noting that the quarter also saw rumors of a possible Fitbit acquisition, but nothing’s come of that so far.
OptimizeRx acquires RMDY Health for $16 million — In the only deal of the quarter with disclosed terms, OptimizeRx, a software company that enables digital health messaging between pharmas and providers, acquired RMDY Health, a SaaS platform designed for digital therapeutics. RMDY shareholders will receive $8 million in cash and another $8 million in equity upon the deal’s closure. OptimizeRx views the acquisition of RMDY’s team and technology as an opportunity to expand its messaging platform’s capabilities, as well as to reach a new client base beyond pharmas and providers. More.
Net Health acquires Optima — In July, software developer Net Health purchased Optima Healthcare Solutions, which specializes in cloud-based EHRs. The deal will help expand Optima’s outpatient EHR software into more specialties. Net Health’s platforms, which include Agility, ReDoc and WoundExpert, currently serve five medical specialty markets and provide practice management tools, revenue cycle management, clinical workflow documentation, patient-reported outcomes and population analytics. More.
NTT Security acquires WhiteHat Security — The summer also saw NTT Security completing its purchase of application security developer WhiteHat security, first announced in March. NTT officials say the deal will bolster its ability to help healthcare and other clients address a wider range of security imperatives — from IT infrastructure to mission-critical applications. Now that the acquisition is complete, WhiteHat will continue to operate as an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary of NTT Security. More.
Philips acquires Medumo — Also in July, European tech giant Philips inked a deal to acquire Medumo, a startup focused on tracking and triaging patients. Medumo focuses on helping patients prepare for appointments. It uses texts, emails, phone calls and paper mailings to reach patients. For example, the company teamed up with Brigham and Women’s Hospital on a colonoscopy preparation service. More.
Experian Health acquires MyHealthDirect — In August, Experian Health, maker of a healthcare revenue cycle management platform and other health IT enterprise tools, announced that it signed an agreement to acquire Nashville-based digital care coordination company MyHealthDirect. Both companies see the acquisition as a chance to more broadly deploy tools that can help patients initiate their own care and avoid frustrations that could harm their experience. MyHealthDirect CEO Tom Cox said his company is eager to continue its development of these technologies with the added benefit of Experian’s financial support. More.
Warburg Pincus acquires majority stake in WebPT — Private equity firm Warburg Pincus signed an agreement in late August to buy a majority interest in the EHR developer WebPT, acquiring it from Battery Ventures. The investment will enable WebPT to boost its product offerings for outpatient physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists. The software-as-a-service vendor is deployed at some 15,000 clinics across the US. More.
Water Street Health Partners and JLL Partners acquire Thread — Two private equity firms, Water Street Health Partners and JLL Partners, acquired virtual clinical research company Thread for an undisclosed amount this quarter. The new owners say they plan on investing in Thread in order to further expand its customer base and offer the platform on a global scale. Thread’s platform is aimed at improving clinical trial research data and making registration and participation in trials easier. More.
TrialCard acquires Mango Health — TrialCard, a company that works with pharma manufacturers to link patients to medications and services, announced in September that it is set to acquire Mango Health, maker of a gamified patient engagement tool and medication adherence platform, for an undisclosed amount. As part of the deal, TrialCard will acquire Mango's app, which lets patients track their medication and adherence. It also has a component that gamifies medication adherence. Patients are able to earn points through proper health habits that are then redeemed for gift cards and charitable donations. More.
Heal acquires Doctors on Call — Heal, maker of an app for booking and processing device-driven physician house calls, announced the acquisition of New York City-based Doctors on Call, a roughly 50-year-old provider of house call services for elderly patients. The acquisition allows Heal to expand its services — previously limited to the Atlanta, California and Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. areas — into the New York market. Also of note, Doctors on Call founder Dr. Paul R. Rosenstock will take up the role of medical director at Health. More.
GoodRx acquires Hey Doctor — We might be cheating a little on this one, because we’re not quite sure when this acquisition occurred, but it was announced this quarter in conjunction with the launch GoodRx Care, powered by HeyDoctor, a virtual care platform. Up until now, GoodRx has been focused solely on medication cost and efficacy transparency. More.
