Cork-based healthcare group secures contract for 15 US hospitals

Genesis Automation, a Cork-based healthcare software company, has signed a "multimillion dollar deal" with a US private hospital chain which it expects will act as a springboard to rapid expansion there.

The company has agreed to supply its software to Novant Health, a provider with 15 hospitals spread across north and south Carolina and Virginia.

Having last year signed a $1 million (€882,000), five-year deal with the Texas-based Driscoll Children’s Hospital, the agreement with Novant marks the company’s first major hospital chain deal.

“Last year in particular was a big year in that we did an awful lot of groundwork for where we are now,” said the company’s founder, Noel O’Hanlon.

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Genesis was created by Mr O’Hanlon, a finalist in the 2018 EY Entrepreneur of the Year programme, to manage inventory in hospitals, capture procedure information and analyse the cost of procedures.

Speaking from Florida, Mr O’Hanlon said the company had a large pipeline with at least four more groups of similar size to Novant expected to sign an agreement in the coming months. Those deals will bring the group’s presence up to about 60 US hospitals with the target being 100 for 2019.

Fragmented

While the company is the market leader for its service in the UK, it was slow to expand in Ireland given the fragmented nature of the market and despite the fact it employs 35 staff in Cork.

However, Tallaght Hospital recently signed up to its service and one of the State's biggest private hospital groups was "due to come on board in the coming weeks", Mr O'Hanlon said.

Additionally, Genesis is incorporating in British Columbia in Canada where it will set up an office in a bid to gain market share there.

By the end of this year, Mr O’Hanlon expects the US to account for about half of sales, rising to 70 per cent in 2020.

Electronics industry

Mr O'Hanlon set up the group in 2009, having worked previously as IBM's marketing director in western Australia and a managing director of IPT Cork, a supplier of equipment to the electronics industry.

Having initially developed its service with Plymouth NHS Hospital in Devon, Genesis is backed by private equity and Enterprise Ireland.

Last year the company raised €21 million and Mr O'Hanlon said there were no further fundraising rounds on the cards for the company which was active across almost 11,000 hospital beds throughout North America and Europe.