Philips nabs NI's Tomcat

26-03-2008

by Ciara O'Brien

Philips Electronics has snapped up Northern Irish healthcare IT firm Tomcat Systems for an undisclosed sum, it was announced on Wednesday.

Philips, which has a significant focus in the healthcare sector, said the acquisition will allow it to increase the use of IT in healthcare, particularly in its cardiology business, with the aim of improving patient outcomes and aiding hospitals' efficiency. Tomcat, which produces Cardio-Vascular Information Systems (CVIS), develops software products to help collect and aggregate data on the cardiac care of patients.

Tomcat's software integrates with different clinical information systems, such as cath lab workflow management systems and picture archiving and communications systems (PACS). It also seamlessly connects to Philips' Xcelera and Philips Xper Information Management, and other third-party systems.

Tomcat has already won customers both at home and overseas, including Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and recently secured two significant orders in Canada. A spokesperson for Tomcat told ENN the firm expected to expand over the coming 12 months, with up to 10 new jobs predicted during that period. The company currently employs 25 people.

"We are very excited about joining forces with Philips Healthcare and believe this is good news, both for our business and for Northern Ireland," said Stephen Gunning, chief executive officer of Tomcat, in a statement issued on Wednesday. "We will benefit from the global presence and excellent brand name that Philips carries worldwide, and this will enable us to grow much faster than we could do on our own. It is a credit to our whole team that Philips has been keen to tie up with us in this way. We are very hopeful of more new jobs being created in the near future."

Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter 2008. Once the transaction has been completed Tomcat will become part of the healthcare informatics business group within Philips Healthcare.

Oran Muduroglu, general manager of the Healthcare Informatics business group within Philips Healthcare, said the Tomcat solution would match well with its current cardiology information systems. The company plans to speed up the introduction of the integrated cardiology information solution in North America and in other selected markets.

Demand for CVIS software is growing rapidly; it's estimated that the global industry for cardiology informatics, which includes CVIS solutions, will grow to more than EUR400 million in 2011 from an estimated EUR275 million in 2008.