OMRON strengthens engagement with AliveCor with series E investment, reinforces cross-company alliance for remote cardiovascular condition management

Kyoto, Nov. 24, 2020 (Antara/Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet) - OMRON Healthcare Co., Ltd. announced on November 24 additional investment into AliveCor by its parent company, OMRON Corporation, as part of $65 million series E funding for the leader in AI-based personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology. OMRON led this round of investment, reinforcing the cross-company collaboration that began in 2017. The companies continue to build on their global alliance to accelerate development of solutions for cardiovascular disease management and remote patient monitoring utilizing ECG technology.

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"OMRON is committed to developing life-saving cardiovascular health technologies in pursuit of our 'Going for Zero' vision to eliminate heart attacks and strokes. It is a lofty goal and, as we said when we evolved our vision, we cannot do it alone. That is why we seek like-minded partners, like AliveCor, to advance our initiatives and work together to save lives," said Isao Ogino, president and CEO of OMRON Healthcare.

"Over one billion adults are hypertensive worldwide (*1), and their risk of stroke is nearly five times greater (*2) if they also suffer from Afib (atrial fibrillation). Hypertension is also an underlying health condition which increases the risk of complications with COVID-19 (*3). The ability to monitor both blood pressure and heart rhythm at home is essential for early detection, treatment and management of these cardiovascular health conditions.

"Our alliance with AliveCor will help enhance our current technology portfolio and provide hypertensive patients and healthcare professionals with data that can save lives--a complete picture of patients' cardiovascular health that can be achieved with personal remote monitoring technology used at home. We continue to explore and develop new technologies to enhance the accessibility of home monitoring that help people to manage their condition, and will engage partners like AliveCor to ensure this technology is best-in-market, further accelerating our remote patient monitoring business to achieve our goal, Going for Zero," said Ogino.

OMRON's expanded investment into AliveCor builds upon the companies' ongoing collaboration. OMRON expanded its blood pressure monitor portfolio with the launch of "Complete" (TM) the first blood pressure monitor with ECG capability in a single device and the first FDA-cleared technology developed in collaboration with AliveCor in 2019. Currently available in the U.S. at OmronHealthcare.com and participating retailers, expanded distribution of Complete (TM) is expected in other regions globally during the company's fourth quarter.

Notes:

(*1)World Health Organization: Hypertension

( https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension )

(*2)American Heart Association: High Blood Pressure, AFib and Your Risk of Stroke

( https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation/why-atrial-fibrillation-af-or-afib-matters/high-blood-pressure-afib-and-your-risk-of-stroke )

(*3)CDC: People with Certain Medical Conditions

( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html )

Committed to helping people live more active and fulfilling lives, OMRON Healthcare is a global leader in the field of clinically proven, innovative medical equipment for health monitoring and therapy. Throughout its history, OMRON has been striving to improve lives and contribute to a better society by developing innovations that help people prevent, treat and manage their medical conditions, both at home and in clinical practice in over 110 countries. OMRON provides the world's No.1 blood pressure monitors and the company's additional core categories are respiratory care, pain management and wellness products. The company also develops remote patient-monitoring service in the field of cardiovascular condition management.