News

The business died, but Helios Health's assets live on

March 18, 2002

SHREWSBURY, N.J. - Helios Health Inc., an Atlanta-based company that had installed e-Station informational kiosks in doctors' offices and hospital waiting rooms, fell on hard times when it exhausted $20 million in second round financing. Helios filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in May. Now, three companies are picking up its assets, planning to take a good idea into profitability.

The companies are HealthCare Integrated Services Inc. (AMEX: HII), MedicalEdge Technologies Inc., and IntelliCom International Ltd.

According to Barry Crescenzi, director of business development for HII, the company purchased 1,381 kiosks, as well as servers, the Web site www.helioshealth.com, and other essential back-end equipment.

"Always, when you're talking about this kind of technology, the back end is everything," Crescenzi said. "We're buying what we need to maintain the actual business and then to grow it."

Crescenzi explained that HII had been interested in working with Helios for at least a year before the bankruptcy occurred.

"It occurred extremely abruptly, and we just jumped in with both feet," he said.

The deal is complex. IntelliCom was already seeking to acquire Helios when contacted by HII. In light of HII's interest, the two companies decided on a joint venture. IntelliCom will own 20 percent of the assets.

MedicalEdge and HII will jointly own the remaining 80 percent after their merger, first announced on October 3, 2000, is completed.

At least six Helios employees have been hired by HII.

"We've kept the quote-unquote 'cream of the crop,' " Crescenzi said. "Those people are miraculous; we have to have them."

However, Jennifer Bottorff, founder and chief executive officer of Helios Health, won't be among those joining.

"It was amicable," Crescenzi said.

The new owners expect that a major portion of kiosk revenues will be derived from pharmaceutical sponsorships. The kiosks are installed and maintained free of charge to doctors and hospitals.

"Everyone at this point in time wants to empower the patient to learn the right things about a particular disease state. Certainly, the pharmaceutical companies want to sell their particular product to cure or to help that particular disease state along," Crescenzi said.

In an HII news release, Elliott H. Vernon, Esq., chairman and chief executive officer of HII, said that the companies plan to introduce new products and services to the e-Stations, including HII's clinical trials program.

Health-related information kiosks may be the next kiosk killer application. According to an IHL Consulting Group study, "Information Technology and the Chain Drug Store," published this month, retail drug store chains are interested in kiosks that teach customers about prescription drugs and food supplements.

The American Heart Association understands the value of this approach. It plans on placing kiosks that teach about heart disease in pharmacies across the country, according to a news release issued by the AHA this month.

Healthnotes Inc., a Portland, Ore.-based company founded in 1986, has a network of more than 6,500 kiosks in grocery stores, pharmacies and natural products stores. The kiosks give information about vitamins, herbs and dietary supplements.

HealthCare Integrated Services Inc. specializes in diagnostic imaging, physician management and consulting services, and clinical research trials. In addition, the HII recently launched a medical Web site, CliniCure.com, to provide onformation about clinical research.