Goldman Sachs' Hudson Street Services has made a minority investment in Epocrates, Inc. a developer of clinical solutions for healthcare professionals. In addition to the investment, Hudson Street will be marketing Epocrates market research solutions to its clients. Although publicly announced, the deal has not been fully implemented in the sense that Hudson Street has not started to market Epocrates yet. The investment is the ninth investment that Hudson Street has made in alternative research providers.
Epocrates claims to have one of the largest opted-in panels of physicians and other healthcare practitioners in the U.S. The panel of about 145,000 physicians is available for custom surveys on specific questions. The service differs from an expert network in that it does not offer one on one consultations, although there is a recruitment and vetting process through the Epocrates Honors panel. Given Hudson Street's own proprietary expert network, there is an opportunity for the two firms to collaborate in leveraging Epocrates existing network of physicians into an expert network.We include the press release below: Epocrates Inc. Announces Strategic Investment by Goldman Sachs
Mon Jan 7, 2008 8:03am EST
SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Epocrates, Inc., developer
of clinical solutions for healthcare professionals, announced today that Goldman
Sachs (NYSE:GS) has made a strategic investment in the company. The companies
also entered into an agreement to co-market Epocrates' market research services.
"As a leading developer of clinical research tools, Epocrates has emerged as one
of the most recognized healthcare technology companies among physicians, and we
are pleased to introduce its services to our clients," said Michael Sanders,
Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and head of Hudson Street.
More than 500,000 healthcare professionals use Epocrates' mobile or web-based
products at the point of care. The company's software solutions feature drug,
disease and diagnostic decision support tools that help physicians improve the
quality of patient care and increase productivity. In addition, Epocrates
recruits clinicians to participate in market research studies. Study topics
range from assessing interest in new pharmaceutical compounds to understanding
current disease treatment protocols.
"We have the largest, verified market research panel in the nation, including
more than 145,000 opted-in physicians. We are looking forward to working with
Hudson Street to serve the research needs of Goldman Sachs' clients," said Kirk
Loevner, chairman and chief executive officer of Epocrates.
As part of the agreement, Hudson Street, a Goldman Sachs business, will
co-market Epocrates' market research products and services to its institutional
clients in the financial sector.
ABOUT EPOCRATES
Epocrates, Inc. develops clinical information and decision support tools that
enable healthcare professionals to find answers more quickly and confidently at
the point of care. More than 500,000 healthcare professionals, including one in
four U.S. physicians, use Epocrates' innovative mobile and web-based products to
help them reduce medical errors, improve patient care and increase productivity.
The company's trusted clinical content is developed by physicians and
pharmacists and is continuously updated to keep users informed and up-to-date.
For more information about Epocrates, please visit
www.epocrates.com/company.
ABOUT HUDSON STREET SERVICES
Hudson Street Services, a Goldman Sachs business, offers investment
professionals access to a select platform of unique content and tools that can
be integrated into their investment process. Collectively, Hudson Street
Services offer a more flexible, more efficient way for clients to access
critical information and ultimately make better investment decisions.
