iRhythm Technologies has announced a collaboration with Verily, focused on the development of solutions aimed at improving the screening, diagnosis, and management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
This collaboration brings together iRhythm’s expertise in AI-based arrhythmia diagnosis and Verily’s advanced health data analytics technologies to address the millions of patients living with undiagnosed AF.
AF is associated with a five-fold increase in the risk of stroke, as compared to those without AF, with these strokes tending to be more severe and associated with higher mortality rates.
For approximately 20% of individuals who experience a stroke due to AF, the occurrence of AF was not diagnosed until the time of their stroke or shortly afterwards.
Furthermore, an estimated one third of those who have AF are not aware they have it.
Asymptomatic or ‘silent’ AF is associated with certain risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes, and sleep apnea, which increase an individual’s likelihood for developing the disorder.
The iRhythm and Verily collaboration aims to address this significant, underserved 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 that could otherwise go undiagnosed until they have a cardiac event, such as a stroke.
Clinical research is demonstrating a major unmet need in the market for this 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.
“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,” said Dr Jessica Mega, chief medical and scientific officer of Verily.
“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.”
“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,” adds Kevin King, president and chief executive of iRhythm.
“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 $5m and potential milestone payments of up to $12.75m upon the achievement of various development and regulatory milestones.