Japan is ranked as the world’s second largest market for diabetes care, with more 10 million estimated diabetic patients in the country.
Taiwanese chronic disease management startup Health2Sync is looking to help this population on a pathway to better health through a new partnership with pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the Japanese market leader for insulin.
Through the deal Health2Sync will work with Novo Nordisk to market and localize the company’s patient management tool and SyncHealth app, which nudges users towards timely healthy behaviors around exercise, diet and blood glucose management.
The company offers technology that connects patient’s glucose monitors to their Android or iOS application to upload data and inform behavioral recommendations.
Besides the size of the addressable patient population, Japan has stood out when it comes to supporting medical innovation, especially in the field of chronic disease management.
“As Japan faces challenges of an aging population with an increase in overall medical costs, the public and private sector has been utilizing technology to reduce costs and increase efficiency in delivery of healthcare,” Health2Sync CEO Ed Deng said.
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.
One recent example was the government’s reimbursement approval for physicians providing remote care for patients.
While initially Novo Nordisk will focus on distribution and sales of the software, eventually the company hopes to link its insulin delivery devices to Health2Sync’s platform leading to automated data collection on medication use.
Deng said the company is also developing capabilities to make it easier for their platform to connect to EMR systems and a new feature to better connect and align health plans with their chronic disease patients.
Health2Sync was founded in 2013 and has grown to 38 employees located in Taiwan and Japan.
The company has raised more than $10 million in funding – including a $6 million Series B round in 2017 led by Japanese insurance giant Sompo Holdings – which has helped boost its growth into markets like Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and recently, Thailand and Malaysia.
Deng said the company will continue to build on its momentum in the country and will soon announce partnerships with medical device companies to further support growth and distribution.
He added that Health2Sync is also ramping up for clinical studies to prove out the platform’s effectiveness as a digital therapeutic, which would open new business lines for the company.
Picture: noipornpan, Getty Images
