Another infant Net company wants an IPO windfall.
This time it's WebMD, an Atlanta company that connects doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and patients through the Web.
The company hopes to raise US$55 million in a public offering underwritten by BancBoston Robertson Stephens. It hasn't yet said how many shares it will sell, or at what price.
Launched just last October, WebMD already has enlisted 10,000 physicians for its service at monthly subscription rates ranging from $30 to $1,000. With a subscription, doctors can research medical journals, check patients' eligibility, order drugs and supplies, and sign up for free email and paging services.
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It hopes to sign up 100,000 docs within the next year.
WebMD also chases after consumers. It has news and resources for patients researching medical conditions and community sites where people with illnesses can swap advice and comfort.
Like most Web firms, WebMD isn't making any money. It lost $31.8 million through the first nine months of 1998. Of course, it didn't even debut until October, so it has even less of a track record than the average Net IPO.
Still, WebMD has cobbled together an impressive list of partners and has spirited away executives from some of the biggest names in health care. It landed Jay Gilbertson, for example, the former president and chief financial officer of HBO & Co.
WebMD joins Healtheon as the second Net health-care firm in the IPO pipeline. Both companies are hoping for a better reception than Healtheon got last fall, when it had to pull its offering after institutional investors failed to bite.
