A Wisconsin-based startup that makes digital inhalers has been purchased by medical device giant ResMed for $225 million.
Propeller Health, which bills itself as the “leading digital therapeutics company” created a digital inhaler to help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a disease that impacts 16 million Americans.
ResMed CEO Mick Farrell called the purchase a “significant step for ResMed towards becoming the global leader in digital health for COPD.” ResMed has manufactured more than 6 million cloud-connected remote monitoring devices, with a focus on sleep apnea and respiratory illnesses.
The companies expect to finalize the deal by the end of March.
“ResMed shares our belief that connected health solutions create vastly better experiences and outcomes for people with chronic respiratory disease,” David Van Sickle, co-founder and CEO of Propeller said in a statement. “Joining forces enables us to accelerate the adoption of Propeller’s solutions at a global scale, and serve as a powerful platform for a broad set of pharmaceutical and healthcare partners.”
Very excited for our big announcement! Together @PropellerHealth and @ResMed can dramatically improve the treatment of chronic respiratory disease. And i could not have taken this journey with a better team! https://t.co/ryfmt5oXHS
— Chris Hogg (@cwhogg) December 3, 2018
Propeller Health has partnered with insurers like Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ohio to test out whether the device can reduce emergency department admissions by alerting care managers if a patient is taking too many rescue breaths.
RELATED: ResMed buys post-acute care EHR MatrixCare for $750M
The company has also worked on similar initiatives with Dignity Health, which reduced hospitalizations by 79% using the digital intervention.
The digital health company, founded in 2007, has raised $70 million in venture funding, including a $20 million Series D in May.
ResMed, meanwhile, is just coming off a $750 million purchase of a post-acute EHR called MatrixCare.