Lash Group, a Charlotte health care consulting organization, started with just seven people in 1993. Now it's expanding in a big way.

The company will add 450 jobs in 2012, and most will be in the city.

Peyton Howell, president of AmerisourceBergen Consulting Services, describes it as "an incredible growth story" for a Charlotte business.

Howell moved to the city 18 years ago and built Lash Group, now part of parent company AmerisourceBergen, which made $80 billion in revenue in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. AmerisourceBergen employs 2,000 nationally. Of that total, 1,500 are in Charlotte. Lash Group is located at Glen Lake Drive in LakePointe Corporate Center near the airport.

Lash Group is expanding again, because of two recent acquisitions by its parent company. The combined companies will create the world's largest patient services organization, Howell said, supporting pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies.

AmerisourceBergen, a global company, is ranked No. 27 on the Fortune 500 list, according to the organization. The combined units will give the business even more reach, Howell said.

"We see this to be a very exciting part of the health care marketplace," she said. "With health care reform, as well as a new wide range of ... therapies, there's a need to help physicians navigate the health care landscape.

"We see opportunity ... in the types of health care services we provide."

Howell sold Lash Group to Valley Forge, Pa.-based AmerisourceBergen in 1998 for an undisclosed amount. This fall, AmerisourceBergen bought two companies: TheraCom, formerly of CVS Caremark and a provider of support services to drug manufacturers, for $250 million; and Premier Source, a privately held company that provides consulting and reimbursement services to a range of health services companies.

Financial terms of that transaction were not disclosed.

Lash Group also has offices in California and Texas. The company doesn't disclose revenue information.

Regarding the 450 additional jobs, Howell said specifics aren't available on the types of positions, but she said the company includes a range of roles, from reimbursement case managers to IT professionals.