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Pfizer to form tech venture
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March 29, 2001: 10:12 a.m. ET
Drugmaker joins Microsoft, IBM in program targeted to serve family MDs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. announced plans Thursday for a joint venture with Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. to sell software and services to doctors.
The venture is expected to be in the form a separate company, although the statement did not give details on ownership of the new company, and it warned that the parties could not yet assure they will go ahead with plans. The statement said it is looking at acquisitions, partnerships and other investments as part of the agreement.
"The acquisition will be happening soon," said a Pfizer spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The companies said the venture aims at providing less time-consuming administrative systems for physicians, particularly office-based doctors in small groups or individual practices,
Microsoft already owns 13 percent of another company in this field, WebMD (HLTH: Research, Estimates), which offers services connecting physicians, hospitals, pharmacies and insurance providers with transaction and information retrieval systems. It also offers online benefit management systems for employers. WebMD still is losing money and has announced a restructuring plan, though.
"We see this as completely separate from WebMD," the Pfizer spokeswoman said. "They're not looking at the same target market we are. Those physicians in small practices."
Pfizer said it is convinced there is great demand for its planned offering, which could be available to the general market later this year. It cited a survey conducted by the Health Information Management Systems Society, in which over 70 percent of physicians said that improving operating efficiencies is their primary concern. The spokeswoman said the need for the services was raised to its sales force by the physicians they deal with.
"This initiative represents our customer focus in action: a cost-effective, customized solution that responds directly to one of the most pressing issues facing physicians today," said Karen Katen, Pfizer's executive vice president and president of worldwide pharmaceuticals.
The system will use Internet and wireless technologies, such as hand-held computers, to help doctors streamline operations, giving them access to medical histories, insurance information, lab results, billing arrangements and more while treating patients.
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Shares of Pfizer (PFE: Research, Estimates) gained $1.01 to $40.94 early Thursday, while shares of Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) gained 94 cents to $56.50, and IBM gained $1.44 to $95.85. 
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