PeriGen acquires WatchChild, diversifies offerings in fetal surveillance market

PeriGen, a fetal surveillance system developer, plans to make waves in the market with the acquisition of the WatchChild Fetal Monitoring System from Hill-Rom, a multi-billion dollar holdings company based in Batesville, Indiana.

The deal, which officially closed last week, will allow Princeton, New Jersey-based PeriGen to have one of the most comprehensive perinatal safety platforms available to providers. The combined companies will be worth about 20 percent of the market, said Matthew Sappern, PeriGen CEO.

Both companies work in digitizing and archiving fetal strips that show the status of a developing baby. However, they both use different strategies and technologies. PeriGen specializes in using artificial intelligence and algorithms to determine what’s happening on a fetal strip, while WatchChild focuses on incorporating proprietary technologies like electronic medical records (EMRs) into the collection of fetal strips.

“The combination made perfect sense,” Sappern said. “They have a tremendous amount of technical strength that we don’t have, and we have all of the clinical decision support tools and the application of artificial intelligence that they didn’t really have.”

PeriGen’s system, PeriCALM, is FDA approved and used by the National Institutes of Health to complete research. It’s been shown in clinical studies that the program has reduced neonatal intensive care unit readmissions, Sappern said.

“Whether you’re a patient, a clinician or a nurse at the bedside, being able to employ these kinds of solutions and then being able to provide the level of interfacing and integration, makes us really a remarkable platform for the future,” Sappern said.

As part of the acquisition, PeriGen will take all of WatchChild’s 20 employees and build new office space for them in Carry, North Carolina. Brian Bishop, who has worked at Hill-Rom since 2008 and served as the general manager of WatchChild, will now be the chief product officer, focusing on product strategy and development.

“My attention will be totally focused on our ability to deliver and execute on our product’s vision and deliver next level solutions,” Bishop said.

Because the acquisition is expected to dominate the market, private equity firm Ambina Partners has invested an undisclosed amount in the combined entities.

Sappern would not disclose exact revenue figures, but said PeriGen’s bookings have seen double digit increases over the last three years, and he expects it to continue such growth after the acquisition.

“We’re just so thrilled to usher in a new, safer and more operational opportunity for hospitals that are in this service,” Sappern said. “Frankly, a lot of feedback from our customers on both sides has been very positive. So we’re excited to get this underway.”