Talyst Receives $20 Million Venture Capital Funding to Accelerate Growth of Medication Safety Systems

Talyst recently announced the receiving of $20 Million in growth funding that will enable the company to aggressively pursue its go-to-market strategy for systems that automate the distribution of patient medications.

The funding is co-led by Ignition Partners and OVP Venture Partners. For both, Talyst represents a new category of investment that combines information technology and the healthcare supply chain.

Talyst provides automation for central pharmacies, by integrating key medication handling technologies, including packaging, labeling, inventory and storage solutions, all driven by its proprietary AutoPharm Software. The company was founded in 2002 and has been successful in installing its systems in more than 200 hospitals across the country. The company expects to double that number in the coming year. Last month, the Puget Sound Business Journal, reflecting a doubling in year-over-year revenue, ranked the company #33 among the state’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies.

Talyst solutions connect with all major brands of pharmacy equipment and hospital information systems, to enable quick, successful hospital implementation of medication barcoding and supply chain tracking.

“Today, fewer than 10 percent of American hospitals are using barcoded medication doses to assure safety and efficiency. In the next 10 years, nearly all will be,” explained James E. Torina, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We are on a remarkable growth trajectory. This investment, by highly accomplished locally based partners, will fuel our continued growth in acute care, while facilitating our expansion into other pharmacy automation markets.”

“Ignition is very excited about Talyst. The company is delivering products which close critical gaps in delivering patient safety and hospital efficiency, while integrating with other, existing systems,” said Richard Fade, venture partner at Ignition Partners. “We are impressed by the management and by the progress to date. We look forward to supporting the company’s continued success.”

“Part of what makes Talyst stand out for us is that such fast growth is rare in health care, where regulatory and budget limitations often introduce obstacles,” explained Lucinda Stewart, general partner at investor OVP Venture Partners. “By virtue of our domain expertise in healthcare operations, we see medication barcoding is a national and global trend that is not to be missed.”

Fade and Stewart will both become members of the Talyst Board of Directors. Talyst’s prior institutional funding was for $9 million, from AIG Horizon Partners Fund, L.P., in March 2005.

For more information, see www.talyst.com