Pharma Giants' Initiatives in Mobile Cardiovascular Health: Digital Tools, Wearables, and Strategic Investments

In October last year, a research report by Research2Guidance showed that although pharmaceutical giants have developed many apps, their download numbers were less than ideal. The survey sample was drawn from 725 apps developed by 11 globally renowned pharmaceutical companies (see figure below). In August this year, the latest survey conducted by SmartPatient, a German app company, found that among the apps developed by pharmaceutical companies, 66% of downloads were concentrated in the technologically advanced countries of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

It is evident that the general public worldwide remains unfamiliar with internet-based healthcare, and its adoption has yet to become habitual. In the cardiovascular field, leading overseas pharmaceutical companies continue to take the lead in the research and development of smart hardware, wearable devices, and mobile applications.


Merk

On August 22, 2014, Merck acquired eCardio. eCardio provides a range of ECG monitoring devices to help physicians improve the diagnosis of arrhythmias and other conditions. Its remote diagnostic services are also integrated with AliveCor’s smartphone-connected heart rate monitors. On September 9, 2014, eCardio merged with Preventice, a manufacturer of wearable and remote monitoring devices. The Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (Merck GHI) will fund the research and development of Preventice’s BodyGuardian heart rate sensor.



Reported on October 7, 2013, Merck GHI acquired the internet health company Omnio. The acquisition entails obtaining Omnio’s iPad app, a tool designed to provide healthcare professionals with quick and easy access to medical information, including pharmacological guidelines for atrial fibrillation in cardiac care units.



Astrazeneca

On July 14, 2015, AstraZeneca and Vida Health announced a joint initiative to develop a mobile application designed to aid recovery in patients after their first heart attack. Named “Day-By-Day,” the app is HIPAA-compliant and was initially piloted at Duke University. It employs digital educational tools—such as videos, articles, and dietary recommendations—to help patients adopt healthier lifestyles and adhere to prescribed medication regimens, thereby reducing the risk of recurrent heart attacks. This initiative also represents an expansion of Vida Health’s existing mobile application offerings in the area of self-management for chronic diseases.

AstraZeneca has also developed medical education tools that use animations to help physicians demonstrate the morphology of atherosclerosis to patients, thereby facilitating doctor-patient communication and discussion. The system allows input of patients’ LDL, HDL, and triglyceride levels, and enables snapshot images from any stage to be emailed to patients via its reporting feature.



Pfizer

On May 24, 2012, Pfizer partnered with EatingWell magazine to develop a mobile app targeted at patients with hyperlipidemia. The app was designed exclusively for patients taking the lipid-lowering medication Lipitor, and featured EatingWell’s shopping list tool, meal-planning scheduler, and recipe search function, while also promoting a $4 co-pay card for Lipitor. However, its success was short-lived, as the app was soon removed from the market.



Pfizer has also developed the “Health Assistant” app, a comprehensive health-tracking tool that records various metrics such as BMI, body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose levels, and allergy history. It also offers features such as medication reminders, hospital search, and common disease information lookup.

Boehringer Ingelheim

On January 19, 2011, Boehringer Ingelheim developed an intuitive and user-friendly app called NIHSS (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [US]) to assist physicians in performing NIHSS assessments for stroke patients. This app has since been removed from the market.

Boehringer Ingelheim has also developed tools for healthcare professionals to provide information on stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, including a stroke risk calculator, a bleeding risk calculator, and renal function calculation and management tools. Some of the assessment results can be emailed to patients (Figure 1).

Another app, developed for healthcare professionals (HCPs), calculates disease severity in patients with acute ischemic stroke and provides related advisory information. It specifically includes NIHSS scoring, dosing calculations for the antithrombotic agent Actilyse, and patient health management features (Figure 2).



Pfizer、 Boehringer Ingelheim、Bayer

On August 20, 2013, iECG, developed by the U.S. company AliveCor and backed by Khosla Ventures, was formally introduced into hospitals for clinical evaluation by physicians. Previously known as iPhone ECG, this cardiac monitor is capable of capturing abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) readings from patients. At a cardiology conference, Professor Ben Freedman of the University of Sydney presented a study on the accuracy of iECG, reporting an accuracy rate of 97%. Although Professor Freedman’s research was funded by Pfizer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bayer, he was not the inventor of iECG. The device was invented by American cardiologist Dr. Dave Albert together with two Australians, Bruce Satchwell and Kim Barnett.


Sanofi Aventis

On January 19, 2011, Sanofi Aventis launched a free app called AFib Educator to help physicians explain atrial fibrillation (AFib) to patients, their families, or caregivers. The app interactively demonstrates how AFib affects normal cardiac function, covering disease symptoms, risks, and management strategies. It features detailed animations and color-coded images that distinguish between normal hearts and those with AFib, along with X-ray fluoroscopy images illustrating cardiac arrhythmias, as well as comparative electrocardiograms (ECGs) of normal and abnormal heart rhythms.



Novartis

On August 13, 2014, Seventh Sense announced that it had secured $16 million in Series B funding from three major companies: Novartis, Siemens, and Burlington Bio-Medical & Scientific. The funds will be used to further develop TAP, a blood-collection device for diagnostic testing. This compact, portable device, about the size of a stethoscope head, uses hydrogel microneedles to penetrate the skin; with slight pressure, it can draw a patient’s blood. It typically collects 20 to 100 microliters of blood sample, utilizing capillary action and vacuum pressure to extract the blood. The primary advantage is that patients do not experience pain—only a sensation of suction—and do not see the blood, thereby reducing the risk of vasovagal syncope (see image above).

Reported on September 22, 2009, Novartis and Proteus Biomedical, an innovative company developing digital medicines, conducted a medication adherence study in hypertensive patients. The drug administered was Diovan, and the performance of the ingestible sensor within the bodies of the 20 participants was monitored, with signals detected by a receiver worn on the patients’ shoulders. The results showed that over six months, patient medication adherence increased from 30% to 80% (bottom left).

Reported on November 11, 2010, Novartis intended to integrate Proteus Biomedical’s patented Ingestible Event Marker (IEM) microchip technology into pills. Upon ingestion, gastric acid in the stomach would activate the chip, transmitting data on heart rate, body temperature, and physical activity to a Bluetooth-enabled skin patch. The skin patch would then relay this data to the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system, allowing physicians to remotely monitor patients’ physiological data (see bottom right).



Reported on July 10, 2015, Novartis’s new cardiovascular drug Entresto received FDA approval. CEO Joe Jimenez stated that although the new drug is relatively expensive, with an average daily cost of $12.50, long-term cost savings can still be achieved by using internet-enabled devices for remote monitoring of medication adherence to improve patient compliance.

On November 19, 2013, it was reported that the Avatar team won the grand prize in Novartis’ Internet Healthcare Challenge. Centered on heart failure, the competition attracted 200 companies and developers vying for a $40,000 award. The app, developed by Sense.ly, enables physicians to remotely monitor patients with congestive heart failure and features voice recognition, capture of qualitative and quantitative data, and provision of clinical recommendations.



Novartis、Roche

On December 2, 2010, Fujitsu launched the F-02C, a waterproof mobile phone that became the first handset to receive certification from the Continua Health Alliance, enabling connectivity with medical measurement devices. The phone features an application called i-appli, which can measure blood pressure and body composition. The Continua Health Alliance is a healthcare organization comprising 236 corporate members, dedicated to achieving interoperability among medical devices. Its members include major technology companies such as IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft; pharmaceutical giants like Novartis and Roche; and health insurance providers and medical device manufacturers such as St. Jude Medical and Ascension Health.



GlaxoSmithKline（GSK）

On November 17, 2014, GSK, in collaboration with emerging data company Medidata, sensor manufacturers Vital Connect and ActiGraph, conducted a small-scale experimental study using mobile devices to assess the feasibility of wearable sensors in clinical diagnosis. The study involved only six subjects, wherein the Human Performance Laboratory tracked and measured a series of vital signs—including electrocardiogram (ECG) data and activity performance—in six healthy participants.



Johnson & Johnson

Janssen Healthcare Innovation, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, provides patients with a mobile health solution called Care4Today. Care4Today comprises four major programs, one of which focuses on heart health. Its core components include: 1. A customized technology platform that integrates with existing hospital IT systems to provide an intuitive interface for ease of use by hospital staff; 2. Management of both healthcare providers and patients, utilizing multimedia methods to educate and motivate patients, modify their lifestyle habits, and support cardiac rehabilitation teams in delivering medical services; 3. Implementation pilots, featuring rigorous project execution protocols, along with training and business development for healthcare service personnel.



J&J has developed a health-tracking app, Track Your-Health, which allows users to view data from various health devices on their mobile phones, including daily activity levels, calorie intake, and personalized goal setting. The app also includes tests for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in the body.



J&J has also developed a digital health scoring app that enables users to self-assess their risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, or cancer. By spending a few minutes answering questions about their health and lifestyle habits, users can receive an evaluation of their health score, along with key metrics such as BMI, cholesterol levels, and blood glucose.


Abbott

Reported on April 4, 2011, the FDA approved Abbott’s i-STAT 1 wireless blood analyzer. This device enables healthcare professionals to share or transmit critical medical information without needing to remain at the patient’s bedside around the clock. For instance, when a patient undergoes a cardiac troponin test, emergency room staff can measure and transmit the results and initiate treatment under the remote guidance of American Heart Association specialists located elsewhere, thereby supporting the final diagnosis of heart disease.

Abbott has also developed tools targeting women’s cardiovascular health, helping healthcare professionals educate patients on the importance of preventive heart care. The educational functionality is reflected in three aspects: first, learning about disease characteristics and risk factors; second, enabling women to perform self-assessments through gamified interfaces; and third, providing direct connectivity to ForYourHeart.com, a heart health education website established by Abbott (Figure 1).

There is also a patient-oriented video education app that enables U.S. healthcare providers to demonstrate cardiovascular health and interventional procedures to patients. Specific content includes video demonstrations of drug-eluting stents, carotid artery stenting, coronary artery disease stent procedures, and peripheral vascular disease with stent interventions (Figure 2).

Another app, also a patient education tool, leverages augmented reality technology to allow physicians to demonstrate surgical procedures to patients (Figure 3).



Merck Sharp & Dohme(MSD)

MSD has developed a computational tool for Italian healthcare professionals to calculate cholesterol levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, and cardiovascular risk.



Daichii Sankyo

On March 3, 2015, Partners HealthCare, based in Boston, and the Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo announced a collaboration on anticoagulant therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AFib), as high-risk AFib patients require anticoagulation treatment. The project, named “mobile wrap-around,” will involve the future development of wearable monitoring devices and companion mobile applications to help patients receive timely advice and responses from their physicians.

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