Watermark Medical, Inc., a privately-held medical products and services company currently servicing the sleep-disordered breathing market, today announced the completion of a $15 million equity investment from CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA). This equity investment in Watermark Medical represents CA Technologies' entry into the emerging Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based healthcare cloud market. As part of the investment, CA Technologies will hold a minority stake in Watermark Medical and two seats on Watermark's Board of Directors.
“With Electronic Medical Records, the growing tele-health industry and a new focus on preventative healthcare, there is more opportunity than ever for technology organizations such as CA Technologies to help drive innovation in the area of data management, aggregation and delivery.”
Watermark Medical's current technology enables medical practitioners to easily manage, aggregate and access critical diagnostic and historical patient information. According to Sean Heyniger, CEO of Watermark Medical, "CA Technologies is an expert in managing data in virtual and cloud environments, and this investment will further the development of our advanced, web-based technology platform."
"We're excited about working with Watermark Medical to develop innovative solutions for cloud-connected healthcare," said Jacob Lamm, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at CA Technologies. "This investment provides a significant opportunity for CA Technologies to participate in the future of the management of medical data. With Watermark, we will be working with a company that can take our technology and immediately apply it toward helping improve the quality of care physicians can provide for their patients."
John Sculley, co-chairman of Watermark's Board of Directors agrees. "As an emerging leader in the medical cloud computing arena, Watermark is on track to expand the technological capabilities of traditional primary care physician (PCP) offices with our comprehensive cloud platform services," he said. "With Electronic Medical Records, the growing tele-health industry and a new focus on preventative healthcare, there is more opportunity than ever for technology organizations such as CA Technologies to help drive innovation in the area of data management, aggregation and delivery."
Watermark Medical already has seen success with its premiere product offering, the Watermark ARES device. The Watermark ARES (Apnea Risk Evaluation System) is the first FDA-cleared, CMS approved, in-home, wire-free, ambulatory sleep test device that provides medical practitioners with a highly accurate, lower-cost tool to diagnose patients who may be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). This comprehensive diagnostic system is already transforming the diagnostic treatment and care of OSA with its end-to-end, diagnostic-to-therapy platform service.
According to Heyniger, "as Watermark's technology expands and is increasingly incorporated into the day-to-day functions of the medical community, benefits will include: a decrease in costs to the physician and patients; ability for patients to gain access to potentially lifesaving diagnostic tests; shifting the cost burden from expensive hospital and specialist-based testing to the PCP; and increasing accuracy in tracking the long term health and wellness of patients."
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