Qualcomm and Boehringer Ingelheim Collaborate to Add New Digital Technology to RESPIMAT® Inhaler
Two industry leaders combine strengths in health care and technology to aim to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) care
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Life, Inc., today announced a new collaboration to develop a connectivity solution for the RESPIMAT inhaler, the platform inhaler for the Boehringer Ingelheim family of respiratory therapies, to help improve COPD treatment outcomes. The collaboration will be announced at Qualcomm Life’s fifth annual Connect 2016 ecosystem conference, taking place on August 30 and August 31, 2016 in San Diego, California.
“For more than 40 years, Boehringer Ingelheim has had an unwavering commitment to the COPD community to provide new health solutions that can help improve patient outcomes and expand our understanding of COPD,” said Ruchin Kansal, Executive Director and Head, Business Innovation, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. “Boehringer Ingelheim is proud to join forces with Qualcomm Life, a global leader in wireless technologies, to bring the latest technology to our RESPIMAT inhaler with the goal of improving adherence to daily medicines that treat symptoms of COPD.”
“Qualcomm Life is committed to powering the Internet of Medical Things to ultimately enable intelligent care to be delivered wherever the patient may be,” said Rick Valencia, president, Qualcomm Life, Inc. “We are excited to be collaborating with an industry leader like Boehringer Ingelheim to deliver a more seamless digital health experience that can enable their COPD patients to better manage their disease.”
Through its 2net™* Design platform, Qualcomm Life is developing the prototype for a small, wireless, low-power, disposable module for the RESPIMAT inhaler. This fully-integrated inhaler, which is designed to seamlessly connect with Qualcomm Life’s 2net Platform, will be able to track puffs from the RESPIMAT inhaler, and the collected information can be shared with health care providers and people who have been prescribed one of Boehringer Ingelheim’s RESPIMAT medicines.
As with other chronic diseases, poor adherence to treatment plans is common among people with COPD and can result in increased rates of COPD symptoms, health care costs, hospitalizations and even death. The collaboration seeks to combine Boehringer Ingelheim’s global leadership in discovering and developing COPD medicines with Qualcomm Life’s expertise in developing reference designs for wireless, single-use and small integrated modules to create a solution to support adherence to daily treatment regimens.
The RESPIMAT is the platform inhaler for the Boehringer Ingelheim respiratory medications. For more information about the RESPIMAT inhaler and the medicines approved for use in the RESPIMAT, please visit www.us.respimat.com.
Leveraging Qualcomm Life’s deep wireless expertise and technologies, 2net Design is a platform for designing the communications components of connected medical devices, including disposable drug delivery devices and disposable diagnostic devices for condition specific connected therapies.
* 2net is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries.