ResMed and Verily Form Joint Venture to Reach Millions of Untreated Sleep Apnea Sufferers

ResMed, a developer of sleep apnea treatment and connected health solutions, and Verily, an Alphabet company, today announced their agreement to form a new joint venture.
 
Combining ResMed’s expertise in sleep apnea and Verily’s advanced health data analytics technologies, the U.S.-based joint venture will study the health and financial impacts of undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea, and develop software solutions that enable healthcare providers to more efficiently identify, diagnose, treat and manage individuals with sleep apnea and other breathing related sleep disorders.
 
Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder that affects an estimated 54 million Americans (calculated based on a 16-country prevalence data study),¹ and is associated with heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and other life-threatening conditions. Despite the condition’s high prevalence and increasing public awareness, past research has shown that approximately 80 percent of individuals with obstructive sleep apnea are undiagnosed,² untreated, and therefore unaware of their own risk and of the benefits that therapy could provide.
 
“The vast majority of people with sleep apnea don’t realize they have it, and therefore don’t seek accessible, effective treatment to mitigate its effects and long-term health risks,” said ResMed chief medical officer Carlos M. Nunez, M.D. “The combined industry expertise, scalable infrastructure, and data analytics capabilities of ResMed and Verily can unlock meaningful ways to identify these individuals and support their journey to improved sleep, health and quality of life.”
 
“Approaching a widespread health problem like sleep apnea through collecting, organizing and activating health data is central to Verily’s mission,” said Jessica Mega, M.D., M.P.H., chief medical and scientific officer at Verily. “By better identifying at-risk individuals as well as generating real-world evidence regarding the value and effectiveness of treatment, this collaboration has the potential to improve outcomes for millions of people living with sleep apnea, and potentially other related conditions.”
 
The joint venture, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, will operate as a separate venture from ResMed and Verily.
 
References
¹ Benjafield A et al. Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2018. Abstract presented at ATS 2018: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2018.197.1_MeetingAbstracts.A3962#aff3 (full publication pending); Peppard PE et al. Am J Epidemiol 2013: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23589584
² https://aasm.org/resources/pdf/sleep-apnea-economic-crisis.pdf