Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. They have supported mHealth projects in the past, but this time they are planning something big. To that end, they have enlisted the help of Biofourmis, a company with large experience in combining AI and medical tech. Together, they will launch a platform for patients with heart failure in Southeast Asia. Their goal; transform the patient experience and keep them out of the hospital.
Biovitals™ by Biofourmis
Biofourmis is a digital health company based in Singapore. Their latest success came with Biovitals. This web-based platform receives multiple physiologic signals from devices and wearables. An AI algorithm receives the data and warns patients in case their condition gets worse. This is especially useful in heart failure, because by the time patients feel that their symptoms have increased, a trip to the hospital is unavoidable.
BiovitalsHF™ – coming soon in a clinic near you*
*as long as you live in Southeast Asia, that is.
The pharma giant announced that the two companies will roll out their mHealth intervention this month. Patients coming out of hospital will receive the Everion wearable and the companion app, developed by Biofourmis. The choice of wearable was not random. Biofourmis has previously partnered with Biovotion, the company behind it, and the two companies will be merging soon, according to announcements. The end result will be a promising blend of software and hardware.
But why Asia?
The easy answer is that Biofourmis used to be based in Singapore. We believe there is more to this decision. Both Novartis and Biofourmis are trying to enter the Chinese market. This is a very difficult task. The two firms hope that by proving that their service actually helps HF patients in similar socio-cultural conditions, they will be granted access to China. Apart from the obvious financial boost, operating there will give them access to huge amounts of very sensitive, government-mined data. And as we have said before, there is nothing that companies developing AI want more than that.
Take home messages
- More and more pharmaceutical companies are getting involved in mHealth projects. Instead of creating in-house teams, most of them invest in start-ups.
- Novartis has done the same with Biofourmis, as their joint project aims at improvning the outcomes of HF patients. Novartis provides the know-how of conducting a study; Biofourmis provides the tech.
- An AI will monitor patients and warn them, as well as doctors, if it finds that patient status is about to get worse soon.
- You can bet that both companies will try to introduce this tech in China. Our question is: will they make it? If they do, what monster will they manage to create with the frightening amount of data the Chinese record for every citizen?