Oracle has acquired Relsys International Inc., which produces drug safety and risk management analytics software, in a deal that is expected to close in the first half of this year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition will allow Oracle to offer a software suite to support end-to end drug safety processes. Relsys, which will join Oracle’s Health Sciences Global Business Unit, offers adverse event reports, risk management and data analysis tools usable across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, contract research organizations and medical device providers.
“The health sciences industry is increasing investments in software that provide greater transparency into drug safety and help improve the overall safety of therapies,” said Neil de Crescenzo, SVP and GM of Oracle Health Sciences, in a statement. “With the addition of Relsys, Oracle is uniquely positioned to help our customers improve drug safety by delivering a comprehensive software solution that enables our vision of integrated safety and risk management supported by advanced analytics.”
Oracle declined to comment further on the implications of this new acquisition, as the deal is not yet completed.
The deal has led some to speculate that Oracle is trying to expand its footprint in the healthcare space — just in time for the increased government spending on healthcare IT that is expected under the Obama administration.
Just last year, the company created its global business unit dedicated to health sciences, which combined five business units that had to that point been separate.
