Novo Nordisk, healthtech firm GluCare to launch obesity support programme in UAE

Healthtech startup, GluCare.Health, has partnered with pharma giant Novo Nordisk to launch of a 150-patient pilot programme supporting people with obesity.

The partnership will be the region’s first value-based reimbursement model, and will be the first relationship of its kind for Novo Nordisk globally.

With obesity affecting one in three adults in the UAE; the blueprint provided by the pilot programme can be adopted widely to potentially save the UAE economy up to $3.6bn per year.

The programme aims to challenge the way traditional care providers view and manage chronic conditions such as obesity. The model of care will combine new digital bio-markers alongside existing therapeutics. Utilising wearable and connected technologies, it will offer an advanced level of in-patient and data-driven remote care.

It is expected that this model will enhance obesity levels of care, and eventually treatment outcomes, in comparison to traditional models of care. This partnership will put accountability for outcomes versus costs on the provider, rather than on the insurers or patients.

The six-month programme, which begins in September, is open to people with obesity – those with a BMI of 30 or above – as well as individuals with a BMI of 27 or above who also have at least one weight-related comorbidity. Once enrolled in the programme, patients will be under the care of GluCare’s multidisciplinary clinical team, which consists of a health coach, a nutritionist, a nurse/patient educator, and an endocrinologist, with the care team additionally monitoring patients virtually.

The clinical team will also have access to all the data collected through an intelligent analytic platform, which provides the care team with actionable insights. Participants will be continuously monitored by the team for compliance and progress between the three compulsory in-person visits that are required by the participant to complete the program. Those enrolled in the programme can also reach their physicians and coaches with queries and concerns directly through the GluCare.Health app.

Novo Nordisk’s vice president and general manager – UAE, Mads Bo Larsen, said: “Obesity is a complex serious chronic disease associated with many other health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancers. Since 1975, the global rate of obesity has nearly tripled and this trend threatens healthcare systems, economies and individual lives. It is well-documented that obesity management requires a holistic approach and a comprehensive solution, and we strongly believe that combining technology with traditional therapeutics will enhance treatment outcomes.  Globally, we are always looking for solution partners who have proven results and think outside the box, and are delighted to have selected GluCare.Health as our partners.”

GluCare.Health’s co-founder and chairman, Ali Hashemi said: “Since launching in 2020, we at GluCare.Health have proven that hyper-personalised care, using the intelligence of machines to “superpower” our humans, fundamentally humanises the care model itself and drives superior outcomes for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity. This partnership with Novo Nordisk aims to highlight to payors, other care providers, the business community and of course our valued community, just how and why it works so well.”

Read: New tech-based diabetes centre offering real-time monitoring opens in Dubai

GluCare.Health’s co-founder and MD, Dr. Ihsan AlMarzooqi added: “When patients with chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity are not supported properly, it can have a devastating impact on those individuals and their families. More broadly, the cost of treating the health consequences of obesity to the UAE economy alone is approximately $3.6bn dollars annually. Traditional models of care remain woefully limited when it comes to outcomes, despite decades of advances in pharmaceutical therapies.

“This partnership allows us to embed Novo Nordisk’s advanced therapeutics into a companion platform like GluCare.Health, which enhances its efficacy dramatically. To date, GluCare.Health’s model of care has supported thousands of patients with chronic conditions and with this partnership with Novo Nordisk we look forward to changing the lives of our initial cohort of patients and many more to follow.”