Progentec Diagnostics and Karate Health Merge to Form Integrated Autoimmune Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Platform

On August 6, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that medical technology company Progentec Diagnostics (Progentec) and Karate Health had announced a merger to jointly build a diagnostic and therapeutic platform for autoimmune diseases, aiming to develop innovative treatment technologies for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and multiple sclerosis (MS). No financial terms of the transaction were disclosed.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects young women and involves multiple organs. Its pathogenesis is largely associated with genetic, endocrine, infectious, immunological abnormalities, and other environmental factors. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common central nervous system demyelinating disease that frequently affects the optic nerves, spinal cord, and brainstem, characterized by a prolonged course and a tendency to relapse.

Progentec, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Oklahoma, USA, is a medical technology company. The company focuses on developing advanced diagnostic and therapeutic interventions to meet patients’ medical needs. Furthermore, Progentec integrates these diagnostic and therapeutic interventions with digital technologies to improve patient outcomes.

Progentec aims to reduce the incidence and mortality of autoimmune diseases while improving care services for patients with chronic conditions. The company collaborates with medical institutions and research institutes worldwide, dedicated to introducing innovative technologies into the field of diagnostics. Advanced diagnostic technologies not only lower healthcare costs but also facilitate early screening for patients, significantly reducing the risk of disease onset.

Karate Health, established in 2016 and headquartered in Washington, USA, is a medical software company. The company primarily develops medical applications to provide healthcare services for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, and other complex conditions. Karate Health’s mission is to help each patient better understand their condition and improve treatment outcomes.

Karate Health’s medical software applications include the fatigue management app Tackle Fatigue, the symptom tracking tool Autoimmune Or Not, the voice analysis program Flare Call, and the bowel movement tracking app Stool. The total number of users for these software products has currently exceeded 350,000. In addition, Karate Health collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to record and analyze clinical trial data through technological means.

Following the completion of this merger, the new entity will retain the name Progentec, with its headquarters remaining in Oklahoma, USA. Progentec will provide Karate Health’s team with biological laboratory and digital technology support to jointly develop innovative medical technologies and software for the diagnosis and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), and other complex diseases. Arif Sorathia and Brett Adelman, co-founders of Karate Health, will join Progentec’s expert team in clinical research and laboratory operations to help study diagnostic and therapeutic technologies and evaluate their accuracy and safety. Sorathia and Adelman will also lead the digital health technology development initiative, providing physicians with novel diagnostic approaches.

Dr. Mohan Purushothaman, CEO of Progentec, stated, “Karate Health helps patients understand their health status through high-quality digital tools. This merger will facilitate the integration of informatics tools with innovative diagnostic technologies, providing new treatment options for patients with autoimmune diseases.”

(Compiled by Xu Xiaoxue)