Healthtech startup Biofourmis partners Novartis to tackle heart failure

SINGAPORE healthtech startup Biofourmis is collaborating with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis to start a digital therapeutics programme for patients with heart failure in South-east Asia, it announced on Monday.

Through the partnership, patients on Novartis' heart failure medication will also be prescribed Biofourmis' digital therapeutics programme to monitor recovery for at least three months. The programme hopes to reach out to one million patients suffering from heart failure in the region by June 2021.

The company was founded in Singapore but moved its headquarters to Boston this year after its Series B fundraise. In Singapore, Biofourmis has about 50 employees. The startup also has offices in India and Zurich.

Today, heart failure is the top global cause of hospitalisations for patients older than 65, where about 85 per cent of hospitalised patients suffer from an acute heart failure event at least once, and 43 per cent of patients are admitted at least four times.

The Boston-based startup is looking to change that.

Through a wearable biosensor - Everion - that captures patient vitals, the healthtech startup's FDA-approved prescription software will analyse patient data to detect potential triggers leading to heart failure events such as congestive heart failure, and provide recommendations for clinicians and care teams to intervene early.

The biosensor works in tandem with their mobile app, BiovitalsHF, to help patients remotely monitor their physiology parameters, report symptoms, manage medications and communicate with their care team.

"The ultimate goal of this alliance is to work with Novartis to drive better patient-centric outcomes," said Kuldeep Singh Rajput, chief executive and founder of Biofourmis, adding that the startup's prescription software can help arm providers across the globe with the right actionable information early enough to better manage their patients with heart failure.

For now, the programme will be available in six countries in South-east Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Biofourmis has plans to expand this programme globally.