It’s already shaping up to be a big year for Innovaccer, which just announced its second acquisition in three months after picking up pharmacy-payor performance company Pharmacy Quality Solutions (PQS).
PQS connects payors and providers to standardized tracking of medication quality measures, plus value-based reimbursement programs focused on adherence, outcomes, and safety.
- The PQS platform is designed to optimize medication management for Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial populations, covering 95% of all community pharmacies, the top 10 pharmacy chains by store count, and over 60 million lives.
- The acquisition not only accelerates Innovaccer’s VBC roadmap, but also adds a treasure trove of pharmacy data to Innovaccer’s existing ecosystem of payors and providers – not to mention the potential to cross-promote services to complementary payors and pharmacies.
The talk on the show floor at HIMSS was the we could see as many as four more acquisitions from Innovaccer before the end of the year, targeting data-oriented teams that can propel Innovaccer’s three-pronged forward strategy:
- Value – transitioning from fee-for-service to value-based care (Health Cloud and PQS)
- Productivity – shifting from burnout to AI-driven productivity (upcoming AI Copilot)
- Experience – moving from encounter-based care to experience-driven care (Cured acquisition)
While last year failed to produce a much-anticipated spike in M&A fueled by attractive valuations, startups’ increasingly depleted war chests have set up the current market to be even more favorable for potential acquirers.
- Startups working with enterprise customers could start leaning toward mutually beneficial acquisitions from their partners, which helps founders find a path forward while allowing enterprises to sustain their work with valuable clients.
- Others like Innovaccer will be looking to M&A to bolt-on complementary features or capture market share in adjacent categories. While running out of runway might not guarantee more M&A activity, it certainly tips the scales in that direction.
The Takeaway
Innovaccer is quickly delivering on its ecosystem approach to integrating payors, providers, and pharmacies through a connected AI-enabled data infrastructure. Although an acquisition’s success is determined as much by the hard work put in post-announcement as it is by the target, Innovaccer so-far appears to have its playbook dialed.
