Singapore-based medtech Aevice Health has received undisclosed funding from venture capitalist East Ventures for its expansion in Southeast Asia.

It has also announced that its flagship product, the smart wearable stethoscope AeviceMD, has been given a 510(k) clearance by the United States Food and Drug Administration.

AeviceMD is part of the AeviceMD Monitoring System, a patient management platform that collects and then analyses lung sounds to detect signs of respiratory exacerbation. 

WHY IT MATTERS

According to Aevice Health CEO Adrian Ang, chronic respiratory diseases in Southeast Asia represent a "significant untapped opportunity." Over 7% of the population or about 48.5 million people are dealing with chronic respiratory diseases, including COPD and asthma. The company seeks to scale its solution across the region to help address this growing problem. 

Meanwhile, its latest US FDA approval also enables the company to expand access to its respiratory care solution for over 41 million COPD and asthma American patients. "With this clearance, we take a significant stride towards becoming the equivalent of continuous glucose monitors for diabetes, but for respiratory health — a patient-centric, affordable, and accessible solution that empowers patients to achieve a healthy recovery from the comfort of their homes," Ang said.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

These back-to-back announcements follow the approval of Singapore's Health Sciences Authority for the AeviceMD Monitoring System in March.

Two years ago, the company raised about $2 million and secured a local partnership to scale the AeviceMD stethoscope in Japan.

Aevice Health is now working with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to pilot its remote respiratory monitoring system. It also plans to get its proprietary lung-sound analysis algorithm cleared by the US FDA "in the near future."