iRhythm Technologies has announced a collaboration with Verily to develop solutions aimed at improving the screening, diagnosis, and management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
A press release from iRhythm says that the collaboration brings together its expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) based arrhythmia diagnosis and Verily’s advanced health data analytics technologies to address the needs of the millions of patients living with undiagnosed AF.
iRhythm points out that for about 20% of those who experience a stroke due to AF, the AF was undiagnosed until the occurrence of the stroke or shortly afterwards, and that an estimated one-third of those who have AF are unaware of it. Asymptomatic or “silent” AF is associated with risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and sleep apnoea.
According to the press release, the iRhythm and Verily collaboration aims to address the population at risk for asymptomatic or silent AF. Under the terms of the agreement, iRhythm and Verily plan to collaborate on solutions capable of providing earlier warnings, enabling the identification and management of patients who might otherwise be undiagnosed until they have a cardiac event, such as a stroke.
The company points out that clinical research is demonstrating a major unmet need in the market for an early warning approach. At the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in May, the first phase of the mSToPS study, published in JAMA, showed that patients who were diagnosed with AF in iRhythm’s Zio service-monitored group had a significantly lower rate of hospitalisations and emergency room visits than the non-monitored control group.
Jessica Mega, chief medical and scientific officer of Verily states in the press release: “We are excited to partner with iRhythm, a pioneer in ambulatory cardiac monitoring, to find innovative ways to deliver more efficient care to patients with atrial fibrillation. With the high prevalence of cardiovascular-related health issues, we have an opportunity to not only improve how we diagnose, manage and monitor conditions like atrial fibrillation, but also develop patient-centric solutions that could ultimately prevent serious cardiac events.”
Kevin King, president and CEO of iRhythm adds: “iRhythm and Verily have a shared mission to create a better standard of care for cardiac patients— making heart health data more actionable so patients can live longer, healthier lives. We are pleased to partner with one of the world’s most reputable healthcare technology companies to better serve the millions of people living with AF today. Verily’s patient-centric approach to disease management and advanced hardware capabilities will prove critical in providing patients and providers with the tools needed to increase the efficiency of heart healthcare.”
Under the terms of the agreement, iRhythm will make an upfront payment to Verily of $5 million, and potential milestone payments of up to $12.75 million upon the achievement of various development and regulatory milestones.
