Cerner Corp. has completed its $1.3 billion acquisition of Siemens Health Services – and now looks forward to as much as $5B in revenue in 2015.

[See also: Cerner to buy Siemens health IT unit]

The newly-merged unit now boasts combined annual research and development investment of more than $650 million, according to Cerner.

“By combining client bases, investments in R&D and associates, we are in a great position to lead clients through one of the most dynamic eras in health care,” said Neal Patterson, Cerner chairman, CEO and co-founder, in a statement.

[See also: Cerner, Siemens and the future of EHRs]

"Cerner remains focused on key development areas including population health, physician experience, open platforms, revenue cycle and mobility," he said. "We see these as critical areas of investment to ensure providers can meet growing regulatory demands and control costs, while continuing to improve quality of care.”

Cerner and Siemens AG, the former parent company of Siemens Health Services have also formed a strategic alliance to combine Cerner’s IT capabilities with Siemens' device and imaging expertise. Each organization expects to invest up to $50 million during an initial three-year term, officials say, with an initial focus on integrating diagnostics and therapeutics with electronic health records.

"A unique feature of this acquisition is we’ll continue working with Siemens AG in a R&D capacity, in order to advance the interoperability of electronic health records with medical devices," said Patterson.

Cerner expects revenue in 2015 to be approximately $4.8 billion to $5 billion, with a client base spanning more than 30 countries across more than 18,000 facilities.

"The Cerner client family has grown and so has our team," said Patterson. "We’re now more than 21,000 associates strong across a global network, all with the singular focus of advancing the state of the art in health and care."

John Glaser, former CEO of Siemens Health Services, has joined Cerner as a senior vice president and member of the company’s executive cabinet; he will support former Siemens Health Services clients as they transition to Cerner.

Meanwhile, support for Siemens Health Services core platforms will remain in place, say Cerner officials. Current implementations will continue, and Cerner will support and advance the Soarian platform for at least the next decade.