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Merative formerly IBM Watson Health poised to launch raft of new products in 2025



Exec Summary:


Merative, formerly known as IBM Watson Health, is gearing up to introduce a range of new products in 2025. This comes after Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, acquired the health analytics assets of IBM Watson Health in 2022 and rebranded the division as Merative.


The new company aims to leverage its extensive data sets and technology to provide innovative solutions across various healthcare sectors, including life sciences, provider, imaging, health plan, employer, and government health and human services.


Merative's product portfolio will focus on six key areas:


  1. Health Insights: Providing actionable insights to improve healthcare delivery and decision-making.


  2. MarketScan: Offering comprehensive data on healthcare costs and utilisation trends.


  3. Clinical Development: Supporting clinical research and development through real-world evidence and advanced analytics.


  4. Social Program Management: Helping governments and organisations manage social programs effectively.


  5. Phytel and Micromedex: Providing clinical decision support tools and drug information resources.


  6. Merge Imaging: Offering advanced imaging solutions for healthcare providers.


With significant investments and a focus on innovation, Merative is poised to play a major role in shaping the future of healthcare data analytics and technology.


Nelson Advisors work with Healthcare Technology Founders, Owners and Investors to assess whether they should 'Build, Buy, Partner or Sell' in order to maximise shareholder value.


Healthcare Technology Thought Leadership from Nelson Advisors – Market Insights, Analysis & Predictions. Visit https://www.healthcare.digital 


HealthTech Corporate Development - Buy Side, Sell Side, Growth & Strategy services for Founders, Owners and Investors. Email lloyd@nelsonadvisors.co.uk  


HealthTech M&A Newsletter from Nelson Advisors - HealthTech, Health IT, Digital Health Insights and Analysis. Subscribe Today! https://lnkd.in/e5hTp_xb 


HealthTech Corporate Development and M&A - Buy Side, Sell Side, Growth & Strategy services for companies in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Visit www.nelsonadvisors.co.uk




History of IBM Watson in Healthcare


IBM Watson has a long history in healthcare. In 2011, the Jeopardy!-winning supercomputer was announced as a new tool for doctors and researchers, capable of analyzing massive amounts of data to help diagnose diseases, develop new treatments, and improve patient care.


Since then, Watson has been used in a variety of healthcare applications, including:


  • Diagnosis: Watson can be used to help doctors diagnose diseases by analysing patient data and identifying patterns that may indicate a particular condition.


  • Treatment: Watson can be used to help doctors develop treatment plans for patients by recommending medications, therapies, and other interventions.


  • Research: Watson can be used to help researchers identify new drug targets, develop new treatments, and improve the understanding of diseases.


Watson has also been used to develop a number of healthcare products and services, including:


  • Watson for Oncology: This product is used by oncologists to help them make treatment decisions for cancer patients.


  • Watson for Genomics: This product is used by researchers to analyze genetic data and identify mutations that may be associated with diseases.


  • Watson for Drug Discovery: This product is used by pharmaceutical companies to identify new drug targets and develop new treatments.


Watson has had some success in healthcare, but it has also faced a number of challenges. These challenges include:


  • High costs: Watson is expensive to develop and maintain.


  • Privacy concerns: Healthcare providers are hesitant to adopt Watson because of privacy concerns.


  • Regulatory hurdles: The healthcare industry is heavily regulated, and Watson has to comply with a number of regulations.


  • Lack of adoption: Healthcare providers have been slow to adopt Watson.


Despite these challenges, IBM is still committed to Watson. The company believes that Watson has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, and it is continuing to invest in the technology.


In 2022, IBM sold off parts of its Watson Health division to Francisco Partners, a private equity firm. The sale was seen as a sign that IBM was scaling back its ambitions in healthcare. However, IBM has said that it will continue to develop and support Watson for Oncology and other products.


The future of Watson in healthcare is uncertain. The technology has the potential to revolutionise healthcare, but it faces a number of challenges. Only time will tell whether Watson will be able to overcome these challenges and achieve its full potential.



Merative's product portfolio today


Merative offers a comprehensive suite of healthcare data, technology, and analytics solutions. Here are some of its key product portfolios:  


Health Insights:


  • Flexible Analytics: Provides access to time-tested analytics models to predict trends, reduce costs, and improve population health.  


  • MarketScan® Databases: Offers trusted data to compare population cost, usage, and prevalence of healthcare services, enabling benchmarking across industries and geographies.  


  • Benefits Mentor: Helps organisations gain a clear path towards impactful benefits programs, a healthier population, and a stronger bottom line.  


Micromedex:


  • Clinical Decision Support: Equips clinicians with current, rapid, and reliable insights at the point of care.  


  • Drug Database and Resources: Supports patient safety and streamlines workflow.  


  • OrbitalRX with Micromedex: Automates hospital pharmacy inventory management.

     

  • DynaMedex: Provides clinical decision support for the entire care team.  


MarketScan:


  • Real-World Data Analytics: Offers access to longitudinal, fully-adjudicated claims data and analytics to strengthen, accelerate, and simplify real-world evidence studies.  


  • Benchmarking Data for Payers: Provides trusted data to compare population cost, use, and prevalence of healthcare services and benchmark across industries and geographies.  


  • Treatment Pathways: Supports clinical research and real-world evidence.

     

  • MarketScan University: Offers educational resources and training programs.

     

Clinical Development:


  • Clinical Trial Matching: Matches patients to appropriate clinical trials.


  • Real-World Evidence: Leverages real-world data to inform clinical decision-making and drug development.  


Social Program Management and Phytel:


  • Population Health Management: Provides tools and services to improve population health and reduce costs.


Merge Imaging:


  • Medical Imaging Solutions: Offers solutions for managing and analyzing medical images.  


These are just some of the key product portfolios offered by Merative. The company continues to innovate and expand its offerings to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare industry



Merative's product roadmap in 2025


Based on current trends in healthcare technology and Merative's historical focus, we can anticipate the following key areas of development:


1. Enhanced Data and Analytics:


  • Advanced AI and Machine Learning: Merative will likely continue to leverage AI and ML to extract deeper insights from their vast datasets, enabling more precise predictions and informed decision-making.


  • Real-World Evidence (RWE): Expanding RWE capabilities to provide more robust evidence for drug development and clinical practice.


  • Personalised Medicine: Developing solutions to enable personalised treatment plans based on individual patient data.


2. Clinical Decision Support:


  • AI-Powered Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS): Integrating AI into CDSS to provide more accurate and timely clinical recommendations.


  • Natural Language Processing (NLP): Enhancing NLP capabilities to improve the accuracy and efficiency of clinical documentation.


3. Population Health Management:


  • Predictive Analytics: Leveraging predictive analytics to identify high-risk populations and intervene proactively.


  • Value-Based Care: Developing solutions to support value-based care models and improve population health outcomes.


4. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy:


  • Robust Security Measures: Implementing advanced security measures to protect sensitive patient data.


  • Compliance with Regulations: Ensuring compliance with evolving data privacy regulations like HIPAA and GDPR.


5. Cloud-Based Solutions:


  • Scalable and Flexible Solutions: Expanding cloud-based offerings to provide scalable and flexible solutions for healthcare organisations.


By focusing on these areas, Merative aims to empower healthcare organizations with the tools and insights they need to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs, and enhance operational efficiency.


Nelson Advisors work with Healthcare Technology Founders, Owners and Investors to assess whether they should 'Build, Buy, Partner or Sell' in order to maximise shareholder value.


Healthcare Technology Thought Leadership from Nelson Advisors – Market Insights, Analysis & Predictions. Visit https://www.healthcare.digital 


HealthTech Corporate Development - Buy Side, Sell Side, Growth & Strategy services for Founders, Owners and Investors. Email lloyd@nelsonadvisors.co.uk  


HealthTech M&A Newsletter from Nelson Advisors - HealthTech, Health IT, Digital Health Insights and Analysis. Subscribe Today! https://lnkd.in/e5hTp_xb 


HealthTech Corporate Development and M&A - Buy Side, Sell Side, Growth & Strategy services for companies in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Visit www.nelsonadvisors.co.uk





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