Taiwan-based digital health startup Health2Sync and French multinational pharmaceutical firm Sanofi have signed another partnership to bring digital solutions for insulin management to Japan.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

According to a press statement, both companies will jointly develop digitised features on insulin in Japan, including connected caps for insulin and titration alerts.

Health2Sync has a mobile health app that is currently being used by about 290,000 patients in Japan.

WHY IT MATTERS

A recent study by the Japan Diabetes Clinical Data Management Study Group found that the mean HbA1c level tends to increase among people living with diabetes mellitus. It also noted that Japanese patients are receiving an average of 14.8 units of baseline insulin with 7.8% HbA1c, suggesting that the basal insulin dose may be further optimised through appropriate approaches. However, continuously recording blood glucose levels can be cumbersome for diabetic patients, who are already struggling to control their disease in an unstable environment.

Health2Sync and Sanofi claim their digital solutions will help improve insulin management among healthcare providers and patients with diabetes in Japan. 

This latest partnership "emphasises the companies' ambition to realise a more comprehensive chronic disease management through digital solutions," a press statement read.

THE LARGER TREND

Health2Sync and Sanofi first collaborated in 2020 in a digital health programme which has delivered digital solutions to over 200 clinics and more than 10,000 insulin patients across Asia to date.

Last year, the companies extended their partnership to co-develop an automated digital insulin management solution with titration algorithms, which are now being studied for their therapeutic effects.

Both companies still have plans to extend their partnership in bringing digital therapeutic solutions to patients and healthcare professionals in Japan and other markets.