UnitedHealth Buys PatientsLikeMe After Startup Was Forced to Divest Chinese Investment
26 June 2019 - 02:10AM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Wilde Mathews
UnitedHealth Group Inc. bought PatientsLikeMe, a company that
helps connect people who have similar health conditions, after the
startup was forced to divest an investment by a Chinese firm.
The company will become part of UnitedHealth's research
operation, according to an email PatientsLikeMe sent to customers.
UnitedHealth Group is the parent of the largest U.S. health
insurer, UnitedHealthcare, and a rapidly growing health-services
arm called Optum.
The deal reflects the deep appetite for patient data in the
health industry, with pharmaceutical and other life-sciences
companies as well as insurers, technology companies and health-care
providers all eager to tap new sources of information in developing
treatments and ways to manage care.
PatientsLikeMe bills itself as the "world's largest personalized
health network," and it says that more than 650,000 people with
2,900 conditions have helped generate data. The company calls its
site "an unprecedented source of real-world evidence."
The acquisition closed on June 19, according to the
PatientsLikeMe email. Terms weren't disclosed.
The sale to UnitedHealth came after an investment in
PatientsLikeMe by Shenzhen-based digital health company iCarbonX,
which is backed by Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Inc.,
came under scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the
U.S. Cfius, an interagency panel that vets foreign investments for
security risks, demanded iCarbonX unwind its 2017 investment.
ICarbonX couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
A Treasury Department spokesman said Cfius doesn't comment on
specific cases.
PatientsLikeMe declined to comment.
In the email to customers, PatientsLikeMe said it is "joining
the research and development arm of UnitedHealth Group." The
company told customers that "there will be no transfer of your
personal data inconsistent with the original consent, from the
PatientsLikeMe's secure database."
The company also said it was "committed to using your data for
good, protecting your data, and advancing our understanding of
diseases through your partnership."
"We look forward to collaborating on patient-first research and
building upon the supportive communities patients have come to rely
on," a UnitedHealth spokesman said in a statement.
The deal was first reported by MobiHealthNews.
Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 25, 2019 11:55 ET (15:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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