Taiwanese chronic disease management company Health2Sync has entered into a partnership with Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk to help patients undergoing insulin therapy wirelessly transfer dose logs to a mobile health app. 

The Health2Sync mobile app is now able to sync patients' dose logs, including time and dosage per injection, from the newly released NovoPen 6 and NovoPen Echo Plus that have been powered by near-field communication.

This integration allows users to browse insulin readings and analysis, along with other health data, on the Health2Sync app, while clinicians can view their insulin data on the Patient Management Platform.

The partnership also initiates a patient support programme, which creates tailored and age-based educational content for patients with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). These content include information about their disease, use of insulin, attention needed during seasonal changes, and ways to deal with adverse health conditions, as well as experiences shared by other Type 1 patients.

WHY IT MATTERS

A century since insulin, a hormone that allows the human body to use glucose, was discovered, Health2Sync noted that one in two patients with type 2 diabetes is not getting treated while the number of patients requiring insulin treatment still reach between 150-200 million globally.

Through a new support programme and by enabling the integration of smart insulin pens with the Health2Sync app, "patients receiving insulin therapy can reach optimal glucose control with the help of the improved communication and education provided," said Ed Deng, CEO and co-founder of Health2Sync.

Takatsugu Den, director of the Diabetes and Obesity Business at Novo Nordisk Pharma, said they expect that through age-based educational content, which includes manga and animation, "children and adolescents with T1D can obtain treatment information more easily and that starting insulin treatment will become simpler and easier to adjust to".

For now, the service is available for Japanese patients with plans to introduce it to "other markets in the region," Deng shared.

THE LARGER TREND

Health2Sync's latest collaboration with a multinational drugmaker follows another partnership with French pharma company Sanofi that was signed in December last year. Sanofi will help Health2Sync in rolling out its upcoming insulin management solution, which is being built with titration algorithms to facilitate effective coordination between healthcare providers and patients.  

Meanwhile in November last year, Health2Sync released an updated version of its mobile app in Japan that was made to integrate continuous glucose monitoring data from the Abbott FreeStyle LibreLink mobile app. The latest app allows them to view their CGM data, along with figures on their diet, weight, blood pressure, and exercise data captured from Fitbit.