Wolters Kluwer Health to Acquire Leading Global Drug Information Provider Lexi-Comp

PHILADELPHIA, April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for professionals, students and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Lexi-Comp, Inc., a leading global provider of drug information and clinical content for pharmacists and clinicians. The acquisition is the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions Wolters Kluwer Health has made in its Clinical Solutions business as part of the company's strong focus on serving the point-of-care segment.

"Wolters Kluwer Health has focused heavily on building a robust suite of clinical decision support solutions for point-of-care use by healthcare professionals, and our acquisition of Lexi-Comp is very much aligned with this strategy," said Arvind Subramanian, President & CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions. "Like Wolters Kluwer Health's Clinical Solutions businesses, Lexi-Comp is a leader in providing quality drug information and clinical content designed to help pharmacists and other healthcare professionals make informed and efficient clinical judgments and decisions to improve the quality of care they can provide for their patients. With this acquisition, over 500,000 pharmacists and clinicians in 149 countries will have access to Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions offerings. Following completion of the acquisition, our combined businesses will be well-positioned to provide a robust portfolio of clinical decision support solutions for professional customers across the healthcare continuum."

Lexi-Comp provides drug information and medical reference content to more than 1,500 hospitals internationally, and publishes drug monographs covering more than 1,700 products.   Lexi-Comp's clinical information is available to pharmacists and other healthcare professionals online and on a variety of popular mobile devices, as well as through integrated health information systems. To support and supplement effective clinician-patient interactions, Lexi-Comp also provides patient medication leaflets in 19 languages. The company is headquartered near Cleveland, Ohio and has approximately 150 employees.

The two companies have a long-standing relationship through Wolters Kluwer Health's UpToDate business. UpToDate offers an electronic clinical information resource via the internet and mobile devices, with one of the world's largest online clinical information communities including more than 4,400 expert clinicians who function as authors, editors and peer reviewers and over 400,000 users who provide questions and feedback.  UpToDate covers more than 8,500 topics in 17 medical specialty areas, with integrated Lexi-Comp drug information and clinical content offered through the UpToDate platform.  

The acquisition of Lexi-Comp will enable Wolters Kluwer Health to further strengthen its leading position in the clinical decision support and point-of-care information segments and to provide customers with even more robust drug information and clinical content offerings for both hospital pharmacies and overall hospital enterprises. It will also enable pharmacist, physician and nurse customers to use an extended suite of mobile capabilities and online platforms, making access to critical medical information more convenient than ever before.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. For more information on Wolters Kluwer Health, visit www.wolterskluwerhealth.com. For more information on Lexi-Comp, visit www.lexi.com.

About Wolters Kluwer Health

Wolters Kluwer Health (Philadelphia, PA) is a leading global provider of information, business intelligence and point-of-care solutions for the healthcare industry. Serving more than 150 countries and territories worldwide, Wolters Kluwer Health's customers include professionals, institutions and students in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy. Major brands include traditional publishers of medical and drug reference tools, journals and textbooks, such as Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; and electronic information providers, such as Ovid®, UpToDate®, Medi-Span®, Facts & Comparisons®, Pharmacy OneSource® and ProVation® Medical.

Wolters Kluwer Health is part of Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company. Wolters Kluwer has 2010 annual revenues of euro 3.6 billion ($4.7 billion), employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect", "should", "could", "shall", "will" and similar expressions. Wolters Kluwer cautions that such forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, general economic conditions; conditions in the markets in which Wolters Kluwer is engaged; behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors; technological developments; the implementation and execution of new ICT systems or outsourcing; and legal, tax, and regulatory rules affecting Wolters Kluwer's businesses, as well as risks related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. In addition, financial risks such as currency movements, interest rate fluctuations, liquidity, and credit risks could influence future results. The foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Wolters Kluwer disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Health