In recognition of the importance of the critical shift to a more patient-centric, integrated and predictive healthcare environment, Cipla Medpro, wholly-owned subsidiary of Cipla Limited and South Africa’s third largest pharmaceutical company in the private sector, will acquire a 30% stake upon closure in the connected healthcare company, Brandmed (Pty) Limited. In February, Cipla had announced a similar partnership in India with Wellthy Therapeutics to offer a clinically-validated digital disease management platform to patients in cardio-metabolic health.

Following the Definitive Agreement, Cip Tec will make an upfront payment of $22 million to Pulmatrix in exchange for assignment of all rights for Pulmazole in relation to pulmonary indications to Cip Tec. Thereafter, both parties will equally share costs related to the future development and commercialization of Pulmazole, and equally share worldwide free cash flow from future sales of Pulmazole. Pulmatrix will remain primarily responsible for the execution of the clinical development of Pulmazole, and Cip Tec will be responsible for the commercialization of the product. The partnership will be overseen by a Joint Steering Committee with equal representation from both companies.

Brandmed, founded in 2014, has developed a unique fully integrated end to end solution to address outcomes and value-based care for patients with chronic lifestyle and Non-Communicable- Diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. KardioGroup, a subsidiary of Brandmed was awarded the prestigious Frost & Sullivan South African Product Line Strategy Leadership, Internet of Medical Things South Africa, award in 2019.

The Brandmed ecosystem, developed in South Africa, seamlessly integrates a combination of connected solutions across the health continuum for patients, healthcare professionals, practices and institutions, and aims to deliver personalised patient care.

Paul Miller, CEO of Cipla Medpro, said: “This transaction will help to transition healthcare from being reactive to a proactive and real-time monitoring model that focuses on promoting wellness instead of managing illness. This aligns with Cipla’s vision and focus on ‘human care’ and a future where good health is expected, not for the few, but for the many.”

“By pairing our strengths with Brandmed’ s innovative, patient centric approach to healthcare, Cipla Medpro will enhance its diverse portfolio in the NCD area to provide holistic care to patients from awareness through to disease management, thereby enabling patient adherence and compliance.”

The brainchild behind Brandmed, cardiologist Dr Riaz Motara, said: “Drugs alone are not enough to manage a disease and the disease burden will become unmanageable unless innovative solutions are implemented.”

“We’re integrating medical expertise with ground-breaking technology to deliver better patient care and offer an integrated disease management solution. We’re also shifting the focus from managing diseases in separate silos to a comprehensive risk reduction and treatment approach. Greater success in patient health outcomes, value-based care and efficiencies could be achieved in South Africa if more healthcare stakeholders are willing to work together,” said Motara.

The Indigo Wellness Index report reveals that South Africa has tremendous scope for improvement on various health indicators. Measures captured included healthy life expectancy, blood pressure, blood glucose (diabetes risk), obesity, depression, happiness, alcohol use, tobacco use, inactivity (too little exercise), and government spending on healthcare.

According to the World Health Organisation, NCDs – mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes – are the leading cause of death worldwide. More than 38 million people die annually from NCDs (63% of global deaths), including 16 million people who die before the age of 70. Nearly 50% of global disability is attributed to NCDs. Reducing the avoidable burden caused by NCDs and their risk factors means taking actions now to change the narrative around NCDs.