IBM partners with J&J, Apple and Medtronics ‘to transform healthcare’
pharmafile | April 14, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Apple, J&J, JJ, ibm, medtronics
IT firm IBM has teamed up with pharma giants and tech companies to expand its presence in the health and wellbeing market.
The tech giant has partnered with Johnson & Johnson, Apple, and medical devices firm Medtronics to beef up the company’s abilities as a healthcare tech provider.
The collaboration is part of a plan to expand the IBM Watson Health business unit, to be based in Boston, and acquiring two technology companies – Explorys and Phytel – to advance its healthcare analytics capabilities.
IBM is collaborating with Apple, J&J and Medtronic to create new health-based offerings that make use of the personal health information collected by smart devices such as the Apple Watch and self-care and monitoring devices provided by Medtronic.
J&J will collaborate with IBM to create ‘intelligent coaching systems’ centered on preoperative and postoperative patient care, including joint replacement and spinal surgery. It will also look to launch new health apps targeting chronic conditions, which currently cost consumers as much as 80% of the $7 trillion global healthcare spend.
IBM will provide a cloud platform and analytics software for Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit platforms, to allow users – both consumers and researchers – to enter health data in iOS apps securely.
The Medtronic partnership could create ‘a new highly-personalised care management solution for people with diabetes’, IBM says. Medtronic already produces devices including insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, and the IBM collaboration will use the company’s software to analyse patient information and data from various Medtronic devices to help people manage their diabetes.
IBM has also announced it has agreed to acquire Cleveland-based Explorys and Dallas-based Phytel, two healthcare technology companies with expertise in big data analysis, in deals about which terms have not been disclosed. IBM says the companies will help its strategy to help primary care providers, large hospitals and doctor networks to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes.
“All this data can be overwhelming for providers and patients alike, but it also presents an unprecedented opportunity to transform the ways in which we manage our health,” says John Kelly, IBM senior vice president, solutions portfolio and research. “We need better ways to tap into and analyze all of this information in real-time to benefit patients and to improve wellness globally.”
The expansion is part of making IBM’s Watson Health arm a standalone business unit, which senior vice president Michael Rodin says builds on years of collaborative relationships with leaders across the healthcare ecosystem. “We’re excited to broaden access to world-class technology and to work with our partners to transform health and wellness for millions of people.”
Lilian Anekwe
Related Content
J&J seek approval for first drug to treat high-risk smoldering myeloma
Earlier in November, Johnson & Johnson innovative medicine have applied to the US Food and …
European Commission approves combination chemotherapy for treatment of advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer in adult patients
Today, Janssen-Cilag International, part of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced that the European Comission …
J&J seeks FDA approval of Spravato as monotherapy for treatment-resistant depression
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has announced that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application …
