Daiichi Sankyo and FibriCheck announce digital partnership set to transform at-home AF detection and diagnosis

• Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is one of the leading causes of stroke and often goes undiagnosed due to lack of symptoms.¹
• It is estimated that 300,000 people are living with undiagnosed AF and that over 2,000 lives could be saved every year in England with adequate detection and treatment.^2,3
• Daiichi Sankyo has entered into a strategic collaboration with FibriCheck, neoHealthTech and Capitol Medicare to offer a digital health solution in the UK for remote detection and diagnosis of AF.

We are proud to announce that we have entered into a collaborative agreement with Daiichi Sankyo and two other pioneering technology partners to improve timely detection and diagnosis of AF, the cause of one in five strokes in the UK.¹ We will all be working in collaboration to offer innovative digital solutions for patients and clinicians in the management of AF, a condition which, if adequately detected and treated, could lead to the prevention of 7,000 strokes in England alone.¹ Additionally the partnership will strive to address a surge in unmet need for at-home diagnosis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many find themselves at increased cardiovascular risk due to lockdown measures.⁴

The exploration of new ways of working with the NHS and delivery of remote access to healthcare is more important now than ever. Currently, there is no remote end-to-end AF detection and diagnosis pathway embedded in the NHS.⁵ This partnership marks a first step in bringing detection and diagnosis of AF into patients’ homes, allowing at-risk patients access to the right treatments at the appropriate time. The technologies, which consist of the FibriCheck smartphone application and wearable echocardiogram monitoring device, will allow NHS patients with a suspected arrhythmia to be monitored remotely, enabling the detection and diagnosis for otherwise hard-to-reach patients.

“I am delighted that Daiichi Sankyo has facilitated this collaboration with some of the most exciting digital health technology providers in this area,” said Manuel Reiberg, Managing Director at Daiichi Sankyo UK. “These technologies offer significant opportunities to drive earlier detection and diagnosis of AF, which as a result, supports efforts to prevent AF-related cardiovascular events. This cross-sector collaboration is a central part of our commitment to provide our healthcare partners with innovative, sustainable solutions, and we look forward to analysing the impact these projects will have on patient outcomes.”

A core objective of this project is to support delivery of the NHS’ Long Term Plan objectives to provide digital solutions for patients, enabling them greater control over their health and the care they receive, while meeting the objectives of preventing 150,000 cardiovascular events by 2028.⁶ A number of local integrated projects will be delivered in pilot areas at the Primary Care Network (PCN) level across the UK throughout 2021 and 2022, which will provide local data on the efficacy and outcomes of the programme.

Lars Grieten, CEO of FibriCheck, commented on the partnership: “It’s an honour to work with a pioneering company such as Daiichi Sankyo to tackle the AF burden on the NHS. As a smartphone-based solution, FibriCheck facilitates greater access to care through an entirely virtual pathway. We improve engagement and better outcomes by empowering patients with simple and effective distanced care to safely self-manage at home, and by providing clinicians with actionable data for the next steps in care. Peace of mind, evidence informed demand and appropriate resource allocation is realised through results that have been validated by medical professionals.”

Mr Amit Bhandari, Managing Director of neoHealthTech Limited said: “neoHealthTech is proud to collaborate with Daiichi Sankyo, the rapid detection of AF will lead to quicker treatment of this high priority patient group. We provide the QardioCore device kit as an extended Holter monitoring solution. Our solution allows clinicians to monitor their patients at home in real time. Live ECG data allows patients to have the extended Holter test for the required duration. The device kit can be sent to the patient for them to wear and instantly transmit data.”

Dr Harmandeep Singh, Cardiology Consultant and Director & Founder of Capitol Medicare Limited stated: “AF has always been a priority to Capitol Medicare and our collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo will allow us to ensure timely detection, reduce the number of undiagnosed AF patients and minimise the risk of stroke. The QardioCore data will be analysed within 24 hours of the patient completing the extended Holter test. A downloadable report is ready immediately after analysis and will provide recommendations based on the findings of the Holter test. This collaboration is hugely exciting for all parties involved.”

About Daiichi Sankyo

Daiichi Sankyo UK Ltd is a UK affiliate company with corporate origins in Japan. They create and supply innovative products to help the NHS to deliver better patient care in the fields of cardiovascular disease and oncology.

The company was founded in 2006 through the merger of Japanese companies Daiichi and Sankyo in Europe. With a rich legacy of scientific expertise dating back more than 100 years, they are the pioneer behind leading pharmaceuticals that have contributed to the improvement of countless lives across the world.

Their mission is to contribute to the enrichment of quality of life through the discovery and delivery of innovative medicines that address diverse and unmet medical needs.

They are committed to providing innovation that demonstrates value and supports the NHS in its delivery of sustainable high-quality care, enabling efforts to reduce health inequalities and unwarranted variations and which puts the patient at the heart of the service.

About neoHealthTech Ltd

neoHealthTech is committed to improving patient care and saving lives. By providing innovative, rapid diagnostic technology they help healthcare professionals diagnose and treat faster, reduced wait times, reduced costs, and reduced patient anxiety.
They enable healthcare professionals to manage and monitor patients in the community as well as their own home thereby reducing hospital visits.

About Capitol Medicare Ltd

Capitol Medicare is a CQC registered company run by medical professionals specialising in providing faster diagnostics, analytics and real time remote virtual monitoring solutions to the NHS. They esteem themselves in bringing timely treatments closer to home for patients.

References

1.  Stroke Association. Atrial Fibrillation, Information and Resources. Available at: https://www.stroke.org.uk/professionals/atrial-fibrillation-information-and-resources. Accessed March 2021.
2. The AHSN Network. Atrial fibrillation – detect, protect and perfect. Available at: https://www.ahsnnetwork.com/about-academic-health-science-networks/national-programmes-priorities/atrial-fibrillation Accessed March 2021. 
3. NICE. Impact stroke. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/Media/Default/About/what-we-do/Into-practice/measuring-uptake/NICE-Impact-stroke.pdf. Accessed March 2021.
4. Holt, A et al. New-onset atrial fibrillation: incidence, characteristics, and related events following a national COVID-19 lockdown of 5.6 million people. Eur Heart J. 2020 Jun 24: ehaa494.
5. NICE. Atrial Fibrillation Overview. Available at: https://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/atrial-fibrillation#path=view%3A/pathways/atrial-fibrillation/atrial-fibrillation-overview.xml&content=view-index. Accessed March 2021.
6. NHS. The NHS Long Term Plan. Available at: https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/nhs-long-term-plan-version-1.2.pdf. Accessed March 2021.
7. FibriCheck. 9 million euros in funding for eHealth pioneer Qompium. Available at: https://www.fibricheck.com/9-million-euros-in-funding-for-ehealth-pioneer-qompium/. Accessed March 2021.
8. Stroke Association. What is Atrial Fibrillation? Available at: https://www.stroke.org.uk/what-is-stroke/are-you-at-risk-of-stroke/atrial-fibrillation. Accessed March 2021.