Med firms launch B2B site

March 29, 2000: 10:12 a.m. ET

Johnson & Johnson, GE, others create Internet healthcare exchange

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Johnson & Johnson, GE Medical Systems, Baxter International Inc., Abbott Laboratories and Medtronic Inc. said Wednesday they are forming a healthcare Internet business-to-business company.
The trading exchange taps into the $100 billion health-care industry, targeting health-care manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, providers, purchasing groups and other trading concerns. The site will contain worldwide information about buying, selling and distributing medical equipment, products and services, in addition to access to clinical content.

The site will be based in Chicago and is slated to launch in the third quarter this year in the U.S. and expand internationally in 2001. Site features will include online ordering, customer distribution, order status inquiries, product catalogs and contract terms.
    Technical support for the B2B site will be provided by GE Global Services and an alliance with Ariba (ARBA: Research, Estimates), IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) and i2 Technologies (ITWO: Research, Estimates).
    The medical exchange is the latest in a wave of recent B2B initiatives by several industries, including aerospace, auto, and consumer products.
    Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: Research, Estimates), GE Medical Systems (GE: Research, Estimates), Baxter International Inc. (BAX: Research, Estimates), Abbott Laboratories (ABT: Research, Estimates), and Medtronic, Inc. (MDT: Research, Estimates) are equal shareholders in the privately-held company.

"This exchange is a big part of the solution-access to state-of-the-art supply chain management and clinical content without the capital expense," said James T. Lenehan, worldwide chairman, Medical Devices, Diagnostics, and Health Systems Group of Johnson & Johnson.