Healthcare suppliers given good prognosis

Software firms in the healthcare sector are weathering the economic downturn better than companies working in other vertical markets.

Infermed - which specialises in software for clinical research and electronic data collection - is in fact the fastest growing high-tech company in the UK, according to the latest annual Fast 50 survey.

It has worked hard with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund to develop safety-critical clinical systems, and now it seems the hard work is paying off.

The Fast 50 prize is awarded each year by consultant Deloitte & Touche to the most rapidly growing telecoms, media and technology firms in the country.

In previous years the list has been dominated by telecoms companies and dot-coms, but this year's list sees software specialists at the top.

Particularly successful are those in the healthcare sector.

Other high-performers include web-hosting outfit Host Europe plc at number two, and human resources software company OneClick HR at number three.

ISP EasyNet managed to buck the trend of poor-performing telecoms firms by slipping in at 26 on the list. Anti-virus vendor Sophos also scraped in at number 40.