SINGAPORE, 26 October 2023 – Singapore-founded health technology startup, Mesh Bio announces a dual milestone: (I) the regulatory approval of its HealthVector® Diabetes as a Software Medical Device (SaMD) by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA); and (II) HealthVector® Diabetes will be involved in an implementation pilot at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), and selected polyclinics for potential clinical adoption. The implementation pilot is supported by the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC), through the Innovation to Adopt (I2Adopt) Grant.
HealthVector® Diabetes, a metabolic digital twin-based SaMD developed using computational systems biology and artificial intelligence, is intended to predict a 3-year onset risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Its algorithm uses anonymised clinical data from the hospitals’ electronic medical records to derive a risk score for prediction of worsened kidney function. This has the potential to transform the care of patients, as clinicians can use this information to prioritise and intensify therapeutics to delay the progression of kidney failure.
HSA’s approval of HealthVector® Diabetes came on the back of a validation study led by SGH, using SingHealth Diabetes Registry dataset, and the National Healthcare Group (NHG)’s Chronic Disease Management Datamart.
The Escalating Challenge of Chronic Kidney Disease
Diabetes continues to affect many individuals worldwide, and one of its complications is CKD. Based on the National Population Health Survey 2022, about 1 in 12 of Singapore residents have diabetes. A local study has found that about 40 per cent of diabetes patients will go on to develop CKD[1]. If not managed, CKD could lead to kidney failure. A recent report estimated that dialysis costs Singapore S$300 million each year[2]. This highlights the need for solutions like HealthVector® Diabetes, which will enable patient risk stratification for CKD so that care can be personalised for better outcomes.
Envisioning a Predictive Paradigm for Preventive Healthcare
Arsen Batagov, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Mesh Bio, commented, "Our mission at Mesh Bio is to deliver actionable solutions utilising state-of-the-art predictive analytics to mitigate complications from chronic diseases like diabetes. The regulatory approval of HealthVector® Diabetes by HSA, is a monumental achievement, marking a new era of innovation in patient care. We are dedicated to improving the lives of patients and are excited about the potential of HealthVector® Diabetes to predict chronic kidney disease risk in type 2 diabetes patients. HealthVector® Diabetes is our commitment to a future of proactive and tailored healthcare."
Shifting Focus from Disease Management to Prevention
"About 2 in 3 cases of kidney failure in Singapore are due to diabetes. As one would expect, the socio-economic burden associated with kidney diseases will grow exponentially given the rising number of diabetes patients. Our collaboration with industry partners like Mesh Bio to shift our focus from disease management to prevention will be key in reversing the grim outlook," said Associate Professor Bee Yong Mong, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Endocrinology, SGH, who led the validation study.
Harnessing the Metabolic Digital Twin for Health Insights
"The mechanistic digital twin paradigm within HealthVector® Diabetes provides new insights into patient health trajectories. It can enable clinicians to design and implement a personalised care plan for patients with diabetes to prevent specific complications. Collaborating in synergy with industry partners like Mesh Bio strengthens our focus on harnessing innovation and precision medicine to improve preventive and population health. We are thankful to the National Healthcare Group (NHG) Centre for Medical Technologies and Innovations (CMTi) for facilitating this partnership," said Associate Professor Rinkoo Dalan, Senior Consultant of Endocrinology from TTSH, who co-led the research study.
About Mesh Bio
Mesh Bio is a pioneering health technology startup dedicated to the digital transformation of care delivery. With a focus on clinical workflow automation and predictive analytics, Mesh Bio aims to revolutionise the healthcare landscape. The company's flagship product, HealthVector Diabetes (HVD), is the world's first digital twin approved for clinical use, predicting chronic kidney disease (CKD) risk in Type 2 diabetes patients. Mesh Bio's collaboration with leading healthcare institutions further solidifies its commitment to driving innovation and improving patient outcomes.
About the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC) I2Adopt Grant
The NHIC works with Public Healthcare Institutions across Singapore to identify and commercialise promising clinical innovations, providing strategic guidance to innovators and supporting translational development of medical innovations to deliver impactful healthcare and economic outcomes. Established since 2014, NHIC has supported numerous projects and companies in the development and implementation of innovative medical technologies and services, improving the standard of healthcare in Singapore and beyond.
With support from the Ministry of Health, NHIC launched the I2Adopt Grant in Oct 2022 to identify and support the development of clinically significant and commercially viable innovations, and drive and accelerate the adoption of good, cost-effective innovations towards greater impact in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. For more information, please visit nhic.sg/funding/innovation-to-adopt/
References
[1] Tan JK, Salim NNM, Lim GH, Chia SY, ThumbooJ, Bee YM. Trends in diabetes-related complications in Singapore, 2013-2020: Aregistry-based study. PLoS One. 2022 Oct 11;17(10)
[2] https://annals.edu.sg/health-economics-of-kidney-replacement-therapy-in-singapore-taking-stock-and-looking-ahead/
For Media Inquiries
Kimberly Garcia | RICE
meshbio@ricecomms.com
+65 8826 8402
Mesh Bio is a part of our Batch 5 GIA Jakarta Program in Indonesia and Batch 2 Startup Creasphere APAC Program.
Written by: Kimberly Garcia
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