PDR Merges with Alert Network
By Joe Goedert
September 16, 2009
The online and hard copy Physicians Desk Reference has merged with the Health Care Notification Network, which transmits Food and Drug Administration-required pharmaceutical and medical device safety alerts to physicians and other prescribers.
Terms of the merger, which was funded by Lee Equity Partners LLC and included the acquisition of PDR from Thomson Reuters, were not disclosed. The joint company now is known as PDR Network. Edward Fotsch, M.D., former CEO of Medem Inc., a San Francisco-based vendor of online software and services for physicians, is CEO of the PDR Network.
Medem led the Health Care Notification Network after groups representing health and malpractice insurers, physicians, government agencies, and drug and medical device manufacturers launched it in March. Use of the network, now part of Montvale, N.J.-based PDR Network, is free for physicians. The site has no advertising; drug and device manufacturers pay to use the network to transmit alerts to registered physicians. Now, those alerts also can be proactively pushed online to PDR users.
More information is available at pdrnetwork.net.