In the latest demonstration of the consolidation trend in digital health, Glooko and Diasend have said they will merge under Glooko’s brand name, according to a news release. The two digital health companies, which de-silo and aggregate data from glucose pumps, apps and wireless devices to help patients and providers work together to manage diabetes, agreed to merge as part of a strategy to be more competitive on a global scale.
Together, both companies raised $8 million in operating capital to accelerate product integration and support expansion in the U.S. and Europe, according to the news release. Collectively, Glooko’s and Diasend’s products have been deployed in health systems across 23 countries and are available in 15 languages.
Rick Altinger, Glooko’s CEO, will serve as CEO of the merged organization. Anders Sonesson, Diasend’s CEO, will manage global operations for Glooko. Diasend is headquartered in Gothenberg, Sweden and Glooko is based in Mountain View, California. They now share offices in Chicago and London as well.
Vikram Singh, Glooko’s product analytics and marketing manager, said in response to emailed questions that the merger made sense and will make the combined business more competitive.
“Due to the differences in our products (and competition in general), both companies have had significant demand from the opposite market (Glooko from EU, Diasend in USA). Rather than expand each company’s international presence, it made more sense to merge.”
Looking ahead, Singh said Glooko and Diasend will spend 2017 merging their tools into a single product line. Although the details are not yet clear, he said that their joint product line will include a self management mobile app and web app, including decision support modules; a remote monitoring application; a clinical workflow and device upload product with analytics, reports and decision support tools.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Singh added that both companies envision population health and remote patient monitoring as playing a leading role in diabetes care.
“It’s the only way to scale diabetes care. Glooko specializes in remote monitoring software and USA sales, while Diasend specializes in diabetes device integrations (the foundation of data-driven remote monitoring) and selling in a variety of EU reimbursement markets,” Singh noted. “Together, we can scale our remote monitoring technology quickly.”
Image: Bigstock Photo
