​Polyglot Systems, a Morrisville-based company that simplifies drug information for patients and then translates that data into 21 languages, has been sold to a California company for an undisclosed amount.

First Databank Inc., based in South San Francisco, has agreed to acquire Polyglot Systems Inc., which was founded in 2001.

Polyglot’s main product is called Meducation, which provided medication instructions for “high-risk” patients due to language barriers or poor vision. It provides instructions written at a fifth to eighth grade level in large font sizes with pictograms and videos. It has been licensed to hospitals, health systems and pharmacies across the country.

Its customers include Costco, the Mayo Clinic and drug store chain Wegmans.

For the past two years, Meducation software has been recognized as “Best Product” in the Pharmacy Operations Equipment and Services category at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Total Store Expo.

  • VIDEO: Watch a video about Meducation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=Hymo_btobmE

“Meducation is a natural complement to FDB’s mission and existing solutions portfolio,” said Lori McLean, Polyglot’s CEO. “Combining Meducation with FDB’s clinical solutions and drug information uniquely delivers a suite of solutions focused on improving patient safety, clinical care and health outcomes across the entire continuum of care.”

The company was founded by Charles Lee. He is an internal medicine physician, an adjunct assistant professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, and a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee.

First Databank and Polyglot has recently completed a two-year sales and marketing distribution agreement.

“Since one-in-three Americans are either low health literate or have limited English proficiency, offering simplified instructions in multiple languages and easy-to-understand formats has been demonstrated to help improve medication adherence and patient satisfaction,” said Chuck Tuchinda, MBA, president of FDB, in a statement. “We are focused on providing innovative solutions that improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs and our acquisition of Polyglot Systems significantly advances this mission.”

First Databank is a subsidiary of Hearst Corp. and publishes pharmaceutical information used within health care information systems at hospitals, physician practices and other providers for the purpose of medication decision support and negotiating reimbursement rates paid to pharmacies and other providers.

(Note: North Carolina Business Wire contributed to this report.)