WebMD Health to buy Aptus Health to boost info offerings

WebMD Health has entered an agreement to acquire Aptus Health, a subsidiary of Merck that offers services to engage healthcare professionals and consumers.

The acquisition means WebMD will gain control of Aptus’ core brand, Univadis, a global information and education platform that provides medical news, conference and research updates and education to 4 million healthcare professionals in 91 countries.


In addition, the transaction includes Aptus’ EngagedMedia, which supports patient engagement and adherence via an integrated mobile messaging platform, and Tomorrow Networks, which offers data-driven, location-based mobile advertising and marketing solutions.

Details of the transaction were not released. The acquisition is expected to be complete in October and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Executives of WebMD—an Internet Brands company that also operates Medscape, an information resource for healthcare professionals—contend the acquisition will combine the core competencies and scale of Aptus with that of WebMD and Medscape.

"Univadis strengthens our commitment to deliver best-in-class content and tools to millions of physicians worldwide," says Jeremy Schneider, senior vice president and group general manager of WebMD Global. "With Univadis, we deepen our connection to local markets, extend our reach to (healthcare professionals) audiences and increase our value to customers."