Prescribing advice specialists ScriptSwitch has been acquired by Isis Equity Partners in a deal worth almost £10m. The Coventry based firm provides medicines management software to primary care trusts.

ScriptSwitch’s managing director, Mike Washburn, said: “ScriptSwitch is a unique prescribing tool that has created its own market opportunity. We are well poised for growth and look forward to building on our success to dare with both PCTs and GPs.

Matt Caffrey, who led the deal for Isis, said: “ScriptSwitch is a rare example of a business that has developed a unique product and created its own market opportunity from scratch. With our support, we are confident that management will continue to develop the business in what is an exciting sector with significant further growth potential.”

System C Healthcare’s chairman, Jim Horsburgh, has been appointed as non-executive chairman for the new company. In 2005, he saw health software supplier System C through a stock market flotation on the alternative investment market.

ScriptSwitch currently provides its prescribing software product to 52 PCTs, who they say have been able to save millions of pounds from their drug budgets using its medicines management software.

The company now hope to capitalise on PCTs adopting the recommendations made by the recent National Audit Office report on prescription costs in primary care and adopting information systems to improve the efficiency of their prescribing patterns.

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ScriptSwitch

ISIS

NAO: Prescribing costs in primary care