Liva Healthcare has secured €603,405 in funding from the EU Horizon 2020 programmes to be part of the "Impact Diabetes Bump 2 Baby" (IDB2B) research project. 

The digital health coaching app, headquartered in London and Copenhagen, will work toward finding the best way to treat mothers at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Health coaching will be provided via the Liva Healthcare app to women identified as most at risk of developing the condition throughout their pregnancy and for the first 1,000 days after their infants’ births.

The one-year randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to test the effects of providing support for self-management of lifestyle change.

Liva Healthcare will work alongside a team of researchers from seven universities worldwide, including the University College Dublin, the University of Bristol and the University of Granada.

The project will officially launch in early 2020, with results expected in 2021-22.

WHY IT MATTERS

In the UK, up to 5% of women giving birth have either pre‑existing diabetes or gestational diabetes, according to figures from NICE guidelines.

Type 2 is one of the largest challenges to the NHS, with almost four million people suffering from it in England, costing the NHS more than £6bn per year.

In the future, the programme aims to increase cost-effectiveness for healthcare providers to provide solutions for pregnant women worldwide.

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Horizon 2020 is the European Union’s framework programme to boost research and innovation. Starting in 2014, with a dedicated budget of around €77bn, it is the biggest EU research programme ever.

Liva Healthcare’s participation in the IDB2B builds on its experience in other national and international research projects focusing on preventing and reversing Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, including the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

ON THE RECORD

Kristoffer From, co-founder and CEO of Liva Healthcare, said: “After huge success in the UK working on the NHS Diabetes Prevention programme, this latest news brings Liva Healthcare to the forefront of cutting-edge research. We are proud to contribute to such important research that looks to prevent maternal and child diabetes. Our team are looking forward to working with other experts across Ireland, Spain, UK, Australia and Denmark.”

Sharleen O'Reilly, from the University College Dublin, who is leading the IDB2B project, said: “We are grateful for the funding we have received from the EU to begin working on this exciting project. Pregnant women have previously been a more difficult-to-treat group and we welcome more research to speed up advancements care for expectant mothers.”