Francisco Partners to acquire Orchard Software
November 2019—Editor’s note: Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm, announced Sept. 30 its intent to acquire Orchard Software. CAP TODAY publisher Bob McGonnagle, on Oct. 2, spoke with Orchard founder and CEO Rob Bush and with Billie Whitehurst, who will succeed Bush as CEO. Whitehurst most recently was senior vice president at Netsmart. Here is what they, and Curt Johnson and Kerry Foster, of Orchard, had to say about the acquisition.
Let’s hear from Rob Bush about this important news announcement.
Rob Bush: Let me address the timing for us in pursuing this relationship. While our existing products are really strong, we have new products that are hitting the market, and there’s a lot of potential. I think we needed the strength of an equity partner to help us really take advantage of the opportunities we see. And so the timing is right for this to take place.
Are the terms private and confidential?
Rob Bush: They are, as requested.
That’s understood. So let’s hear from Billie Whitehurst. Billie, you have a long background in health care IT. I don’t think you’ve been in the lab end of things before. Tell me how you came to be succeeding Rob Bush as the CEO of Orchard in the new structure.
Billie Whitehurst: You’re right, I have a long background and history in health care IT, more than 20 years where I’ve had the opportunity to work in clinical areas that seek to automate the care process—help support clinicians and other people delivering care and making clinical decisions. I’m a nurse, and that’s how I began my career. I’ve worked in private and public companies and had the opportunity to both grow things from the ground up and to work with companies that have a strong, stable foundation and a great culture like what Rob has built at Orchard. So I’ll be building on that foundation. And as Rob mentioned, there’s a real opportunity from a market perspective as well as with the existing client base to continue to grow.
That sounds good. And now, Curt, let me ask a question that I’m sure is much on everyone’s minds. What would you say today, in the wake of this news, to your current customers and your more immediate prospects that you’re discussing Orchard software solutions with?
Curt Johnson: I would say it’s an exciting time and it’s a great opportunity for our current clients, for us to continue the partnership we’ve grown over the years. And it gives us the capability to expand and meet their needs even quicker than we could have done on our own. This will allow us to get the new products out the door quicker. It’s going to allow us to continue to strengthen Harvest, our current laboratory information system, and build upon its robustness. The new partnership will also allow us to get Trellis and Sequoia into the hands of laboratorians faster than we might have been able to without their help.
As far as prospects and potential new clients, I think it’s just as exciting for them. There’s always a question that comes up when a company is 26 years old and the founder and partner are still at the helm. Where’s it going to go? Questions can always get raised. What’s our long-term strategy? Those are now answered. We found a partner that can take us into the future and allows for the growth to continue, and it eliminates any worries or questions about where we are headed. So I think that’s a positive for them also.
As I listen here, Francisco Partners is bringing equity and capital to the table as part of this transaction, which will then be invested in all the things that you need to have investment in, right?
Curt Johnson: That’s true. The other thing they bring, and I think this is important, is outside knowledge and perspective on health care IT beyond just what Orchard knows on its own. So as we look to expand, there’s a real opportunity with point-of-care management and Trellis. Not only in today’s market through the laboratory that we’re used to, but also as health care evolves and our payment models change to more of a risk-based model, there are a lot of opportunities for Trellis to really make a difference in our health care environment, for health care and more importantly for our patients. And having a partner that has knowledge beyond what we have ourselves just within the laboratory, to be able to assist us with population health management, understanding risk-based contracts, understanding where these efforts can go to benefit patients and caregivers is a terrific opportunity for us that we gain with this partnership.
Billie Whitehurst: I’d add one more thing, and that is to point out that Francisco Partners has a specific expertise in health care IT. If you look at the companies they’ve invested in, they’ve got a real penchant for health care IT, which also brings a set of experiences that we know we can benefit from, things such as migration to staff solutions. There’s real expertise.
Rob Bush: To piggyback on that point, this isn’t a moment of instability for Orchard. It’s a moment of stability. I am the only person who is retiring as a part of this transaction. The rest of the management team is here, and my retirement was part of the deal. That was my request, as you might imagine.
Bringing Billie in makes a lot of sense because she brings talent that we appreciate. This moment of stability gets Orchard ready for the next step.
That’s very good. Kerry Foster, is there something you’d like to say in this context?
Kerry Foster: I see it as very much a win for Rob and a win for Orchard and all the employees and our customers and our prospects that will be joining us over the next few years.
Roche launches Navify cancer guidelines app
Roche has released the Navify Guidelines app as part of its Navify Decision Support portfolio.
The app embeds in Navify Tumor Board the latest National Comprehensive Cancer Network clinical practice guidelines in oncology covering the four most common cancers—breast, prostate, nonsmall cell lung, and colorectal.
When opening a patient case, the app identifies the appropriate guidelines based on the patient’s cancer type. Clinicians can then select the intended pathway, click through the digitized decision tree or flowchart, and personalize treatment steps. All Navify Tumor Board participants can access the app, and resulting treatment plans can be exported to be incorporated into a practice’s EMR system, sent to patients, and submitted to payers for reimbursement approval.
“The Navify Guidelines app provides clinicians with peace of mind that the latest clinical guidance has been considered in treatment decision-making and monitoring,” said Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Roche Diagnostics, in a press release. “The ability to facilitate and track guidelines adherence, personalization, and documentation supports evidence-based care for patients around the globe.”
Earlier this year, Roche released Navify Tumor Board 2.0, which integrates GE Healthcare’s medical image viewer, as part of a collaboration with GE Healthcare. In fall 2018, the company released the Navify Clinical Trial Match and Navify Publication Search clinical decision support apps to help oncology care teams find relevant clinical trials and literature, respectively.
Roche, 317-282-9415
Total Specific Solutions purchases Technidata
Netherlands-based Total Specific Solutions, a Constellation Software company and provider of information technology business solutions, has acquired the French laboratory software provider Technidata.
“Technidata’s entry into CSI group will allow it to benefit from the technological expertise of other subsidiaries of CSI group operating in the health care market,” according to a Technidata press release. “Technidata will also rely on the experience and strength of CSI to support its long-term investment programs.”
Technidata, which markets a variety of products in the United States, including the TDNexLabs lab information system and TDHarmony and TDBactiLink middleware, will operate as an independent business unit of Total Specific Solutions.
Technidata, 514-270-7777
Gestalt Diagnostics forms partnerships with Flagship Biosciences and MindPeak
Gestalt Diagnostics recently entered into strategic alliances with Flagship Biosciences and MindPeak for cancer pathology testing.
Gestalt and Flagship will collaborate on developing an integrated workflow that allows pathologists to access Flagship’s image-analysis services for digital images to support PD-L1 testing.
The companies are “engaging in a shared service to add Flagship’s computational services to Gestalt’s digital pathology solution, PathFlow,” according to a press release from Gestalt. PathFlow users will be able to request the PD-L1 image-analysis service through an interface.
“We are pleased to partner with Flagship Biosciences to integrate their machine learning/AI tools to provide cancer marker detection,” said Lisa Jean Clifford, Gestalt’s chief operating officer and chief strategy officer, in the release.
In a separate announcement, Gestalt and the German company MindPeak reported that they will work together to develop an integrated workflow for pathologists to instantaneously send regions of interest in breast cancer to MindPeak. MindPeak’s image-analysis services support the evaluation of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and Ki-67 biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis.
“By integrating with MindPeak, we are providing pathologists with the ability to select regions of interest on a digital image, automatically send that to MindPeak, and receive their annotated results back in real-time,” said Clifford, in the announcement.
Gestalt Diagnostics, 509-444-0630
Visiun enters group purchasing agreement
Visiun has been awarded a group purchasing agreement for its laboratory analytics system from the health care improvement company Premier.
The agreement allows Premier members to obtain special pricing for Visiun’s Performance Insight software, which provides business intelligence and analytics and is compatible with major laboratory information systems.
Premier offers its network of approximately 565,000 U.S. hospitals, health systems, and other providers group purchasing power; performance-improvement solutions; and consulting, advocacy, and other services.
Visiun, 877-226-6356
Dr. Aller teaches informatics in the Department of Pathology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He can be reached at raller@usc.edu. Hal Weiner is president of Weiner Consulting Services LLC, Eugene, Ore. He can be reached at hal@weinerconsulting.com.