Doctolib, the French medical booking and practice software company, said on May 6, 2026 that it had acquired Medicus, a London company that makes clinical software for general practitioners. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal is Doctolib's entry into the United Kingdom, its fifth European market after France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Alongside it, Doctolib said it plans to invest more than £100 million (about $135 million) in the UK over the coming years, hire 150 people in London and open a research and development centre there focused on primary care.
Medicus will keep its leadership and its UK-based team. Founder and chief executive Emile Axelrad stays in charge of Medicus and, according to Maddyness, becomes head of Doctolib's UK office and a significant shareholder in Doctolib.
What Medicus built
Medicus makes practice management and clinical record software for GP surgeries. Through NHS England's Tech Innovation Framework it developed what the companies described as the first new GP clinical software system introduced into the NHS in 25 years. Maddyness reported that the product received validation from NHS England in June 2025.
The platform connects with other health systems, including the NHS App. Medicus had 25 employees at the time of the deal. Doctolib chief executive Stanislas Niox-Chateau told Maddyness that the team would double in size during 2026 alone.
Neither company disclosed when Medicus was founded, how many practices use its software, or whether it had raised outside funding.
“This is an important step for Medicus, for the GP practices we support and for the future of primary care in the UK.”
Why Doctolib is buying
Core GP clinical systems in England have been dominated for more than two decades by two suppliers, Optum, the UnitedHealth subsidiary formerly known as EMIS, and TPP. TechMarketView described the deal as a potentially serious challenge to that duopoly.
Doctolib started as an appointment booking service and has expanded into software for running medical practices, covering patient records, billing, electronic claims to health insurers, help during consultations and a telephone assistant. In France it competes with established suppliers Cegedim and CompuGroup Medical. It says it supports more than 40,000 general practitioners across Europe.
The combined company plans to offer UK practices, primary care networks and integrated care boards AI-assisted scheduling, documentation, workflow automation, care coordination and patient follow-up. Patient data will be processed and hosted in the UK under UK GDPR and NHS rules. The companies said the plan fits the NHS 10-Year Plan, which aims to move care from hospitals into communities.
Doctolib said it would use its European experience and its AI products to help Medicus grow faster and to simplify daily work for healthcare teams. It also plans to bring its AI clinical lab to the UK to support innovation in NHS primary care. BusinessCloud reported that the combined technology, AI and services will be offered to the clinical and administrative staff of GP practices across the country.
About Doctolib
Doctolib was founded in 2013 by Stanislas Niox-Chateau and employs about 3,000 people. It says it serves more than 500,000 health professionals and 90 million patients. Its products include scheduling, electronic health records, secure messaging, financial tools and AI assistants, and BusinessCloud reported that it works with about 1,000 hospitals across Europe.
Maddyness reported that Doctolib generated €422 million (about $490 million) in revenue last year and became profitable a few months before the deal, 12 years after it was founded. A recent secondary share sale valued the company at €3.6 billion (about $4.2 billion), down from €5.8 billion (about $6.8 billion) at its 2022 funding round.
What the founders said
Niox-Chateau said Medicus had built a strong product and team for UK general practices and that Doctolib was making a long-term commitment to the country.
Axelrad told BusinessCloud that the companies, working as a British team, wanted to raise the standard of GP technology across the UK.
