YaoGeLi Attracts Three Tech Giants Within a Month; Google Glass 2.0 Targets Medical Sector
[Today's Highlights]
Jawbone Sues Fitbit, Seeking to Halt Imports of Fitbit Fitness Bands
Novartis May Combine Entresto with Digital Health
Consumers Won’t Use Google Glass 2.0, But Their Doctors Might
NIH Requires Public Feedback on the Use of Smartphones and Wearable Devices
YaogeiLi was favored by three major giants, including Baidu Waimai, within one month
1. Jawbone Sues Fitbit, Seeking to Halt Imports of Fitbit Fitness Bands
Jawbone, a leading fitness device manufacturer, has accused its rival Fitbit of poaching employees and stealing intellectual property. Jawbone has filed a lawsuit against Fitbit to block the importation of Fitbit’s products into the United States, igniting a legal battle between the two companies. In late May, Jawbone alleged in court that Fitbit had “systematically plundered” data and stolen trade secrets by hiring Jawbone employees.
The initial legal battles followed closely on the heels of Fitbit’s initial public offering, which surpassed analysts’ June expectations. Fitbit raised $732 million, valuing the company at $4.1 billion.
The import ban action initiated by the U.S. International Trade Commission is related to patent claims. Fitbit responded to the media, stating that it holds more than 200 patents. In a statement, the company said, “Fitbit independently develops and delivers innovative products to enable customers to lead healthier, more active lives.”
Fitness band manufacturers are entering one of the most promising and profitable segments of the mobile health market: smart wearables. A report by FierceMobileHealthcare notes that the global smart wearable market has seen eight consecutive quarters of growth, with vendors shipping 11.4 million units in the first quarter of this year—a threefold increase from the 3.8 million units sold a year earlier.
Bloomberg reported that, in addition to attempting to block imports of Fitbit fitness trackers, Jawbone is also seeking to collaborate with Flextronics International Ltd. to establish a regulation prohibiting the counterfeiting of Jawbone products.
2. Novartis may integrate Entresto with digital health solutions
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article stating that Entresto, the high-profile chronic heart failure drug from Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis, may soon be integrated with digital health solutions.
Entresto, also known as LCZ696/valsartan, is believed to be the most effective medication for reducing mortality in heart failure patients compared to current standard treatments, and it is expected to maintain this position for a considerable period. With the rising incidence of heart failure, anyone could potentially become a patient.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Novartis is considering combining Entresto with other products, such as digital health tools, to facilitate remote monitoring. Earlier this year, Novartis announced a partnership with Qualcomm to utilize Qualcomm’s 2Net platform for remote monitoring and data collection in future clinical trials.
According to Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez, Novartis is most likely to partner with existing companies that can provide this service.
3. Consumers won’t use Google Glass 2.0, but their doctors might
It is evident that Google sees the future of smart glasses in the enterprise sector. According to VCBeat, Google will launch its second-generation glasses this year, distributed through partners.
Half of these partners are medical or healthcare companies: Augmedix, Pristine, Advanced Medical Applications, CrowdOptic, and Wearable Intelligence. According to foreign media reports, selected partners have already received the second-generation glasses.
Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 is designed to meet enterprise needs, meaning it will not be made available for purchase by general consumers. This includes the addition of a 5GHz Wi-Fi band to support smoother video streaming, which could be key to its application in healthcare procedures. It also features improved battery life, thanks to an Intel chip that extends device longevity and an optional external battery pack.
4. NIH Requires Public Feedback on the Use of Smartphones and Wearable Devices
Recently, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has called on the public to provide feedback through their smartphones and wearable devices to collect health and lifestyle data. To enhance data precision, the NIH has launched an initiative aiming to gather data from more than one million participants. This initiative is described as a bold new endeavor to revolutionize medicine and generate scientific evidence that facilitates the integration of precision medicine into daily clinical practice.
Excitingly, the NIH recognizes the potential of digital health. They specifically highlight how smartphones and wearable devices can be leveraged to collect diverse data, including location information, mobile questionnaire responses, heart rate, and physical activity levels.
5. YaogeiLi was favored by three major giants, including Baidu Waimai, within one month
Just one month after the completion of its Series A financing, this pharmaceutical O2O startup, which had been in operation for only a little over half a year, has already attracted the interest of three major players: Baidu Waimai, 360 Mobile Assistant’s on-demand service platform, and Sogou. The parties have initiated long-term, in-depth collaborations. According to VCBeat, the primary reason lies in its successful execution of the following five key strategies:
Daily order volume exceeds 5,000, outperforming competitors;
Some regions have achieved a virtuous cycle, driving a 90% increase in revenue for offline pharmacies;
Assemble dozens of professional licensed pharmacists to ensure strict medication control and provide expert consultation services;
Preliminarily establish the upstream and downstream supply chain system for pharmaceutical O2O;
Provide professional and efficient ERP management system services to select pharmacies;