Did you know that Pfizer, one of the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine makers, has acquired Brisbane-based ResApp Health, the developer of a smartphone application that can accurately diagnose the infection?
Dr Tony Keating, the managing director of ResApp Health, said that this $100-million deal with the pharmaceutical giant will accelerate plans to commercialise the smartphone app to help families manage COVID-19 better.
On the other hand, Pfizer’s chief digital officer, Lidia Fonseca, said the partnership will boost the company’s efforts to “pave a new era for digital health.”
Pfizer and ResApp Health will also collaborate on creating and launching other products to fight COVID-19.
$RAP announces that it has entered into a binding scheme implementation deed with Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of leading biopharmaceutical company @pfizer at an acquisition price of A$0.115 per share.
— ResApp Health (@resapphealth) April 11, 2022
Learn more: https://t.co/aH1nMIkjGS#ASX pic.twitter.com/Q0iOcrKQLI
Prior to the sale, ResApp just completed its pilot clinical trial of a new cough audio-based algorithm among 741 patients in India and the U.S. The company said that the technology logged a 92 per cent sensitivity for detecting the virus. UQ Associate Professor Udantha Abeyratne developed the technology, which uses audio recordings on the smartphone to diagnose the severity of the respiratory disease.
ResApp Health will also be useful in the healthcare and office setting, aged care facilities, schools, sports and entertainment venues, and for screening travellers.
$RAP announces positive results for a new novel cough audio-based COVID-19 screening test that only requires a smartphone. $RAP will initially target use in settings where frequent COVID-19 testing is required & plans to accelerate commercialisation. https://t.co/fQrI6KNmTG pic.twitter.com/YhKC0m8HKZ
— ResApp Health (@resapphealth) March 21, 2022
“The WHO have recently warned that the pandemic is not over, that health systems globally continue to strain under the current caseload and that we should be prepared for the potential of more dangerous variants to emerge,” Mr Keating said.
“We intend to accelerate commercialisation by immediately engaging with regulators globally and we have already commenced discussions with global health and technology companies with the goal of rapidly bringing this product to market.”