Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Atlantis Health eyes US, Middle East markets

Updated at 7:06 am on 18 October 2011

An Auckland-based company that has become a world leader in medicine management is about to expand into the United States and Middle East.

Atlantis Healthcare specialises in producing tailor-made programmes for patients suffering chronic illnesses to ensure they keep on their medication.

The company was founded in 1996 by chief executive Michael Whittaker and friends Sarah Walsh and Hamish Franklin, built around their knowledge of data management.

Mr Whittaker says Atlantis is a company that does well in tough economic times since having effective medication management so that patients recover quickly and get back to work is attractive to governments around the world desperate to cut costs.

He says the company's point of difference is that it approaches the problem of patient non-compliance by taking a clinical approach.

"We look at all the evidence surrounding why patients are not complying on their medication and put that into practice and design interventions to support those patients."

To do this, Atlantis employs a large team of health psychologists among its 200 staff.

It has operated and launched more than 70 of its programme in 14 countries around the world.

Its plans to market itself in the US and the Middle East is thanks to a new partner - British private equity fund White Cloud Capital - which has invested $20 million in Atlantis, allowing it to also fund a push into Europe.

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