Qualcomm, Novartis team-up to improve COPD therapy

Qualcomm

Qualcomm and Novartis are expanding their partnership to bring mobile connectivity to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) therapy. Under the deal, Novartis will use Qualcomm Life’s connectivity solutions to power its next-generation connected Breezhaler, the inhaler for its COPD portfolio.

Qualcomm Life on its end will develop the reference design for the small, low-power, disposable module to connect the next generation Breezhaler with Ultibro leading the category in the LABA/ LAMA therapy class. The module will seamlessly connect with Qualcomm Life’s 2net Platform, and can detect and report inhaler usage, as well as the duration of the patient’s inhalation which indicates quality of the inhalation.

“Through our expanded collaboration with Novartis, we are able to deliver a frictionless digital health experience to their COPD patients,” Rick Valencia, senior vice president and general manager at Qualcomm Life, said in a statement.

Novartis wants to be the first company with a completely integrated, connected delivery device that will provide a simple experience for patients, to enable them to more easily manage their chronic disease. With near-real time data capture from the patient and the connected device, the company aims to improve medication adherence and ultimately health outcomes for COPD patients.

Novartis plans to launch the new connected Breezhaler in 2019 following manufacturing, testing and regulatory approvals.

Qualcomm Life is already helping the drug maker in its Trials of The Future program by using 2net as a connectivity platform for collecting and aggregating medical device data during clinical trials. Also, the two companies have launched a joint investment firm that targets early stage companies and supports select tech innovations.