In a move to strengthen its payer and life sciences business, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions has acquired prescription drug startup ZappRx .
"Allscripts is excited to add ZappRx's platform to our growing portfolio," an Allscripts spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement. "The specialty-prescribing space is a key focus area for Veradigm, our payer and life sciences business unit."
Allscripts rebranded its payer and life sciences business under the name Veradigm late last year. The division links Allscripts' provider network with health insurers and pharmaceutical companies.
Allscripts reportedly purchased ZappRx for less than the amount the startup had raised in venture capital, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC, which first reported the news. ZappRx had raised more than $40 million from investors like Alphabet's venture arm GV and GlaxoSmithKline's venture arm SR One.
ZappRx says it sells digital solutions to healthcare providers, specialty pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies to streamline prescriptions and prior authorization so that patients can get access to specialty medications more quickly. On the provider side, ZappRx's platform offers clinicians a way to collect information for specialty prescriptions in a single step.
Since its launch in 2012, the startup has announced partnerships with major industry players. Earlier this year, it signed agreements with pharmaceutical giant Bayer and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries subsidiary Teva Respiratory.
Allscripts' ZappRx purchase is just one of a few acquisitions the company has pursued in recent years, including purchasing McKesson's hospital and health system business in 2017 and acquiring two companies—EHR provider Practice Fusion and patient engagement firm HealthGrid—in 2018.
It's part of the company's ongoing effort to expand its business beyond electronic health records. In May, Allscripts leadership said the company had recently realigned its business into three parts—provider; payer and life sciences; and corporate—and attributed much of its first-quarter bookings success to traction with growing services like Veradigm.
"Veradigm had a very good first quarter," Allscripts President Rick Poulton said during a May earnings call on the company's first-quarter financial results. "It's certainly a good part of why we set a new record in the quarter."
