As of October 1, 2021, Rote Liste Service GmbH already belongs to Bertelsmann Investments (BI), the global venture capital arm of media, services and education provider Bertelsmann, which is active in around 50 countries with 130,000 employees. Bertelsmann Investments comprises four funds that invest in Brazil, China, India and the U.S./Europe to invest capital in strategic growth regions. The purchase of Roten Liste Service GmbH is intended to further expand digital activities in the digital health sector, as Bertelsmann is already involved in this area through its subsidiary Arvato, but is looking for new business areas in this sector.
The owners will remain on BI’s advisory board, as Rote Liste Service GmbH has shareholders from the German Pharmaceutical Industry Association (BPI) (BPI) and the Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies e.V. (vfa). Responsibility for the division therefore remains with the former „Rote Liste“ management team. However, the central product of Rote Liste Service GmbH is still the printed form of the Rote Liste, which has been available in book form for almost 90 years in the medical-pharmaceutical sector, providing healthcare professionals and patients with information on finished drugs. 270,000 copies have been in circulation for this long period of time, which is why the Red List is also the most widely circulated drug directory in this country.
Now, however, the promising business field of digital health services is to be further expanded. Individual pieces of information already run through digital channels, which include online banks and apps. However, the new owner Bertelsmann believes that transformation and development of the digitalization of the healthcare market are promising, although the Red List as a book still functions as a hub for pharmaceutical information.
Source: www.e-health-com.de