Arcturis Data and Akrivia Health have agreed a £140m all-share merger that will create one of the UK’s largest healthcare data groups, according to new reporting from Sky News.
The deal is expected to be completed in autumn 2026.
The Oxford-based companies provide NHS patient data and analytics to the pharmaceutical industry, with the combined business expected to have 40 NHS trusts as customers.
The deal, which is expected to complete in autumn 2026, will bring together data covering more than 20 million patients currently receiving treatment and 100 million aggregated patient records.
The combined group is expected to have particular strengths in oncology, neurology and mental health, immunology, and cardiovascular health.
Arcturis and Akrivia already have partnerships with pharmaceutical companies including AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Teva.
The merger comes amid continuing debate over the use of patient and healthcare data in the NHS, including the role of US technology company Palantir.
Palantir is developing the Federated Data Platform for NHS England, with recent forecasts suggesting the expected cost of the platform could rise to as much as £1.1bn.
The proposed merger would create a UK-owned and UK-domiciled healthcare data company, according to industry sources.
What does each data company do?
Arcturis, formerly known as Sensyne Health, was rescued in 2022 following financial difficulties through a £26m recapitalisation.
The company subsequently raised a further £10m from investors including Lansdowne Partners and Salica Investments.
Akrivia Health was founded in 2019 as a spinout from the University of Oxford and the NHS.
It was built around the Clinical Record Interactive Search (CRIS) system.
The management structure of the combined business has not yet been confirmed.
Akrivia chief executive David Newton is expected to take a senior position in the new company, while Arcturis chief executive Alex Snow is also expected to remain in a leadership role.
The proposed transaction is subject to completion in the autumn.
