Healtheon/WebMD, Medtronic Seal $100 Million Alliance
The two companies will work together over the next four years to combine Healtheon/WebMD's (HLTH) overall healthcare information with medical technology information from Medtronic (MDT). The alliance would encompass a $50 million cash commitment by Medtronic to Healtheon/WebMD.
The two firms plan to develop an Internet platform for disseminating information on proven medical products and treatments, as well as create dedicated online health information channels for disease-focused communities. In addition, Medtronic intends to invest an additional $50 million into WebMD Europe, a company to be formed by the previously announced global joint venture between News Corp. and Healtheon/WebMD.
Medtronic provides a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic devices and services for a range of diseases and disorders. It will also be WebMD's worldwide exclusive medical technology online and offline media sponsor and advertising partner in a variety of disease categories.
Tuesday's announcement comes on the heels of Healtheon/WebMD's purchase of Quintiles Transnational Corp.'s health care transaction branch for $2.5 billion on Monday.
"Our ground-breaking alliance with Medtronic allows Healtheon/WebMD to address the critical medical concerns of millions of consumers worldwide who are diagnosed or concerned with chronic diseases," said Jeff Arnold, chief executive officer for Healtheon/WebMD. "Our vision is to use the Internet to facilitate a better health care delivery system, and these therapeutic applications and services will provide tremendous value to our physicians and consumers."