ResMed, Propeller Health Announce Partnership With Walgreens

At the recent JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, connected medical device maker ResMed marked the official close of its Propeller Health buyout, and Propeller—which will continue to operate as a standalone business out of its Madison, Wisconsin, and San Francisco offices—announced a new partnership with Walgreens. The Propeller-Walgreens deal will allow patients to refill their asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prescriptions using Propeller’s app.

“Patients will be able to refill prescriptions for in-store pickup, as well as find nearby locations, talk live with a pharmacist, and check their rewards points, and Propeller plans to add other pharmacy chains in the future,” Fierce Biotech reported. “The feature is analogous to ResMed’s digital resupply offerings, which remind patients they’re eligible for reimbursed replacement parts for CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] masks every few months.”

ResMed’s $225 million acquisition of digital COPD and asthma therapeutics company Propeller was sparked at the 2018 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, according to the article, when the companies began talking about ways to partner. Later conversations revealed complementary plans for the future, and a deal was struck that would position Propeller within ResMed’s respiratory care portfolio and allow it to continue to work with other pharmaceutical partners and healthcare organizations.

“There had been a fear that if we were sold to a pharma company, we wouldn't continue working with the others,” Propeller’s chief commercial officer Chris Hogg said. “But it's been very favorably received. The move allows us to become part of a neutral company and maintain our relationships with all of the other respiratory pharma developers.”

“Don't mess with the core business and let the team keep performing,” the article quoted  ResMed CEO Mick Farrell, “because they're doing really well.”

—Jolynn Tumolo

Reference

Hale C. Newly hitched ResMed and Propeller Health announce Walgreens partnership. Fierce Biotech. January 10, 2019.

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