New Bayer Precision Health group to develop digital health solutions
The Bayer Consumer Health Division has launched a business unit that will focus on developing new precision health products, enabling people to use digital solutions to take greater control of their health.
Tasked with identifying digital and digital-supported consumer healthcare opportunities, the Bayer Precision Health group will look to close the gap between monitoring, awareness and diagnosis. It also aims to bring together education, treatment and prevention to support consumers with end-to-end control over their personal health.
By focusing on digital solutions it will empower users to make more informed choices that are based on personal insights and novel delivery mechanisms.
“As people increasingly turn to self-care to manage their everyday health, new digital tools are enabling them to make smarter choices through deeper and more precise understanding of their individual needs,” said David Evendon-Challis, head of R&D and chief scientific officer for the Consumer Health division of Bayer. “With global leadership in the core categories people turn to for self-care, from cardiovascular and digestive health to pain management and immunity, Bayer will offer a wide range of precision health products and services.”
The new group will focus on addressing unmet needs in its core categories and will be embedded within the business. Working with start-ups, among other digital health providers, it will deliver new evidence-based precision health products to market and scale technologies globally. In addition it will also look to upskill Bayer’s existing digital capabilities.
It’s not an entirely new direction for Bayer, which has previously been active in the precision health space. In 2021, the investment arm of Bayer invested in Ada Health, and piloted projects to embed Ada Health’s AI-based symptom assessment in to several of its brands. And earlier this year Bayer teamed up with Huma Therapeutics Limited to develop an online tool to determine an individual’s risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease.
Aquil Harjivan, R&D head – digital health for the consumer health division of Bayer, said: “Digital health products are a perfect addition to the treatments we have offered for decades. We believe the best of precision health will be driven by partnerships so we look forward to working with the most innovative, evidence-driven companies committed to transforming everyday health.”
