DiabetesLab

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DiabetesLab: We treat diabetes as a mathematical problem.

Trento, Italy
Year Founded:
2014
Organization type: 
for profit
Project Stage:
Start-Up
Website:
http://diabeteslab.org
Twitter: 
http://twitter.com/diabeteslab
Facebook: 
http://facebook.com/diabeteslab
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Project Summary
Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

At DiabetesLab we treat diabetes as a mathematical problem. Our product is dedicated to sports enthusiasts who live with insulin-treated diabetes. It improves health and quality-of-life, and reduces complications with expensive treatment.

WHAT IF - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"

What if computers could be more reliable than medical professionals? What if an artificial intelligence system could take all the burden of patients' daily decisions about insulin dosing?
About Project

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

People living with insulin-treated diabetes (38 million in the world) need to actively manage their condition every day: glucose levels are affected by food, physical activity, acting insulin, stress and many other factors. Unstable glucose levels affect health and wellbeing, and keeping them within an acceptable range is hard work which leads to exclusions of many social activities like being active, doing sports.

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

Algorithms to provide personalized medical advice, implemented in a mobile app, cloud software, or embedded into existing devices. The goal of technology is to take the burden of all calculations to help people with achieving a better management of the disease. Disadvantaged countries lack an access to insulin. We propose to create an app to optimize logistics of insulin donation programs, to optimize resources and lower delivery costs. By using our app, service providers will know when and where to deliver, thanks to statistics. This campaign will also help to raise awareness for type 2 diabetes which can go undiagnosed for many years, until severe complications will develop. Starting treatment early would help to prevent complications.

Awards

TechPeaks Accelerator prize (funding from the Trento Province), FINODEX grant (funding from the European Commission)
Sustainability

Financial Sustainability Plan: What is this solution’s plan to ensure financial sustainability?

Business model that we consider: (a) B2C with freemium/subscription model for end users; (b) B2B with reducing costs for insurance companies and healthcare providers; (c) B2B with providing additional value to existing diabetes products or treatments; (d) B2B with providing analytical reports based on aggregated data. We are establishing relationships with relevant businesses, NGOs, patient associations, hospitals, researchers in Europe and USA.

Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?

Our direct competitors: diabetes companies, such as Medtronic, Dexcom, mySugr, DiaSend (devices, algorithms and data management solutions for diabetes). Our indirect competitors: health and fitness companies such as Jawbone, Fitbit (data-driven approach to health). Our competitive advantages: innovative technology, team, personal experience, and close work with target users to understand their unmet needs. The existing solutions fail to cover many daily scenarios, such as managing insulin with increased activity, or giving a bolus for pizza. We create new value for existing devices and data.
Team

Founding Story

Przemek has lived with diabetes since age 10 and couldn't find a solution which would be able to solve his problems. After accumulating experience in technology and business, he decided to gather a team and create a solution. We are supported by TechPeaks/TrentoRISE, the Trento Province, EIT-ICT Labs and the European project FINODEX. To make sure we are going in a right direction, we started with interviewing over 100 people living with insulin-treated diabetes to learn about their problems and current approaches of solving them. The current stage is product development and business model validation; we are preparing clinical studies to measure the impact of our solutions (e.g. on HbA1c).

Team

Przemek Majewski (CEO) is responsible for finding a scalable business model, establishing new partnerships, marketing & PR and Corporate Social Responsibility. Maciej Karpicz (CTO) is responsible for technological infrastructure. Olga Pustovalova (CSO) is responsible for artificial intelligence algorithms and data analytics. Our medical advisor is David Kerr, currently Director of Research and Innovation at William Sansum Diabetes Center. We work with developers and designers. For a complete list with our LinkedIn profiles, please see: http://diabeteslab.org/about_us.html
CO-CREATION IDEA: Please offer a brief description of how you imagine a win-win partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim to better serve unmet needs in health. (Hint: Please mention the underlying business model envisioned that would make such a partnership sustainable.)

Boehringer Ingelheim will have an opportunity to (a) co-create impact for people living with type 1 diabetes and raise awareness for diabetes in general, to prevent complications, and (b) collaborate with DiabetesLab on technological solutions to enhance Boehringer Ingelheim's existing offerings for people living with type 2 diabetes. We use technological innovation to help people achieve HbA1c<7% to minimize complications and reduce treatment costs (nowadays the majority of patients worldwide do not achieve this target). Business model that we consider: freemium for end users; B2B with reducing costs for insurance companies and healthcare providers; B2B with providing additional value to existing offerings.

NEEDS: Based on you response above, please specify which of the following resources, operations or expertise by Boehringer Ingelheim you imagine leveraging to actualize the proposed co-creation opportunity. Please check all that apply. (Hint: while financing is often critical to scale, we are also interested in understanding what other assets or expertise could be leveraged).

Distribution Channels, Relationships/New Contacts, Marketing/Communications Support, Public Policy Knowledge, Access to Capital.

EXPLANATION OF NEEDS: Please explain your choices in more detail.

Mentoring and coaching in running the healthcare-related business and reaching B2B customers in pharmaceutical industry, medical device industry, insurance companies and healthcare providers. Networking and access to the leading players in diabetes market. Guidance and support on regulatory pathways.

OFFER: What are the main assets you may contribute in a co-creation partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim that would better serve unmet needs in health?

Deep understanding of an unmet need in a specific market/context, Other.

FOCUS AREAS: Which of the following best describes the main focus of your project? (select all that apply)

Improving the affordability of healthcare (e.g., microinsurance, reducing the economic cost of care), Remote care solutions for health management, treatment, and diagnosis, Packaging of health products and services to address needs currently unmet.

SECONDARY ENTRY FORM
Please share what your organisation and Boehringer Ingelheim will Co-Create together

Technological tools (such as a mobile app or a web app) that would use DiabetesLab's data-driven technology to support and enhance Boehringer Ingelheim's existing solutions for type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes.

Please specify what your Co-Creation will result in:

a new product.

If you selected "other" above, please explain:
Please provide a 1-2 sentence summary of your Co-Creation idea

Using technology to enhance value proposition of existing diabetes medications.

How does this project link to the core mission of your organisation?

We use technological innovation to help people achieve HbA1c<7% to minimize complications and reduce treatment costs (nowadays the majority of patients worldwide do not achieve this target). This project aims to achieve the same goals: enhancing existing medical solutions to help patients achieve better results in their treatment.

Beyond social impact, how does this project link to Boehringer Ingelheim’s core business?

Diabetes is one of the core focus areas of BI.

What are the specific inputs and actions that each side will contribute to this Co-Creation idea based on each of your unique competencies and experiences?

My organization would contribute:
- Technological expertise: creation of data-driven solutions for diabetes powered with artificial intelligence; expertise in creation of web pages, mobile apps and web apps.
- Field expertise: knowledge of diabetes, related technology and unmet needs of the patients, knowledge of best practises to enhance patient engagement.

Boehringer Ingelheim would contribute:
- Medical, market and business expertise:
- specific expertise and data related to BI's medications for type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes (such as Jardiance, Basaglar) needed to co-create the product. Example: time-action profiles of medications, common challenges and unmet needs.
- access to the network and the market.

Please describe the potential revenue model for this Co-Creation idea.

Business model that we consider: freemium for end users; B2B with reducing costs for insurance companies and healthcare providers; B2B/licensing with providing additional value to existing offerings.

What possible risks or challenges do you foresee?

Market adoption: this is the point where collaboration with BI is crucial.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your Co-Creation idea?

Here's an example of collaboration: BI has in its product portfolio a long-acting insulin Basaglar (insulin glargine biosimilar), recently approved in the United Stated. DiabetesLab could enhance this offering with an app which would help to calculate optimal dosing and timing of the doses. Calculations can be based on patients' data and specifics of this particular insulin.

How much input do you hope to receive from Boehringer Ingelheim?

I’d like to implement together, other (Please explain below).

If you selected "other" above, please explain:

I’d like to design together

Besides Boehringer Ingelheim, what other types of partners might be valuable to carrying out your Co-Creation idea, and why?

Healthcare providers, insurance companies and pharmacies – access to the market/distribution of the solution, so that it would reach the end users.