EU gives nod to joint venture

In what could be an example of how European regulators like to see things done, the European Union has approved a joint venture between Europe-based companies Draegerwerk and Siemens Medical Solutions. Draeger will contribute its entire medical division to the joint venture, which will address the acute hospital care marketplace. Siemens will contribute its patient monitoring systems. The result will be called Draeger Medical-A Draeger and Siemens Company. Ownership will be split 65% Draeger and 35% Siemens.

Under the deal, Siemens will sell its Life Support Systems unit, composed of anesthesia and ventilation devices, to a third party. The joint venture will continue to supply open data interfaces to enable integration of its products and devices with those of other companies. The joint venture's sales organization will work closely with that of Siemens, especially in developing cross-departmental solutions for hospitals and supporting key accounts. In cooperation with Siemens and through the use of the Siemens software platforms syngo and Soarian as basic architecture, the joint venture will develop, produce, and market critical care IT solutions for optional integration into more comprehensive healthcare solutions, according to Siemens.