Voluntis and WellDoc Announce Partnership to Combine Diabetes Digital Therapeutic Offerings

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and COLUMBIA, Md., Jan. 09, 2018 -- Voluntis and WellDoc®, two of the industry’s leading digital therapeutics companies, announced today a commercial agreement aimed at combining Voluntis’ insulin titration technology with WellDoc’s extensive digital coaching platform to create a holistic digital diabetes management solution for patients, providers, health systems and health plans.

Voluntis developed Insulia®, an FDA-cleared, prescription-only digital companion for people and their care teams using basal insulin to treat type 2 diabetes. It provides automated basal insulin dose recommendations for people with type 2 diabetes while enabling the health care team to remotely monitor progress.

The developer of BlueStar® – an FDA-cleared, digital therapeutic for individuals with type 2 diabetes – WellDoc is the first digital health company in the US to conduct randomized clinical trials that demonstrate significant clinical outcomes, as published in multiple peer-reviewed journals and presented at leading industry conferences. The clinical evidence shows a 1.7 to 2.0-point mean A1C reduction for individuals living with type 2 diabetes who used BlueStar.¹ BlueStar provides real-time and timely individualized coaching and support, as well as educational tools that are actionable and personal for individuals living with type 2 diabetes.

“We are excited to be working with WellDoc so that we can bring together extensive coaching and actionable insulin titration recommendations,” said Voluntis Chief Executive Officer Pierre Leurent. “By bringing both products and these capabilities under the same umbrella, we hope to further simplify treatment for people living with type 2 diabetes.”

The pioneering companies maintain a shared vision of how digital technologies can positively impact the health of patients. In order to realize this goal, Voluntis and WellDoc are committed to clinical validation of their solutions, rigorous adherence to regulatory requirements, working with stakeholders to drive utilization and reimbursement, and collaboration with industry partners that complement each company’s respective solutions.

“We are pleased to announce this significant commercial agreement with Voluntis and believe that our two organizations greatly complement each other,” said WellDoc President and CEO Kevin McRaith. “Together, we will be able to provide a combined solution that providers, health systems, and health plans can offer to their members with type 2 diabetes.”

Efforts are already underway to implement a combined product offering, which will be rolled out through a phased approach. The companies expect to begin joint discussions with stakeholders (i.e., health systems and health plans) as early as late-Q1 2018 to convey the advantages and value of the combined product offering as enabled by the Voluntis-WellDoc commercial agreement.

About WellDoc®

WellDoc® is a leading digital health company revolutionizing chronic disease management to help transform lives. Our groundbreaking technology is guiding individuals through the complicated journey of living with chronic diseases, with a goal of improving their health and helping them to be more balanced. We are the first digital health company based on a life science business model with a foundation that is built on randomized clinical trials that demonstrate significant clinical outcomes. We have mastered diabetes management by taking an aggressive and innovative approach that utilizes sophisticated logic and precise algorithms, and integrates the most advanced mobile technology, behavioral insight, and diabetes education for those living with type 2 diabetes.

Our FDA-cleared, proven digital therapeutic, BlueStar®, provides real-time and timely individualized coaching and support, as well as diabetes educational tools that are actionable and personal. Our clinical evidence shows a 1.7 to 2.0-point mean A1C reduction for adults living with type 2 diabetes who used BlueStar®. In November 2017, the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science (formerly Quintiles/IMS) named BlueStar the “top app” in clinical diabetes treatment. For more information, visit www.welldoc.com.

About Voluntis

Voluntis creates digital companions that empower people to self-manage their treatment in remote collaboration with their health care teams. Dedicated to chronic conditions, Voluntis’ products aim to personalize treatment, support team-care coordination and improve real-world outcomes. Voluntis leverages its expertise in digitizing clinical algorithms and its technology platform to design its companion solutions. These include Insulia and Diabeo in diabetes as well as eCO and Zemy in oncology. Voluntis has long-standing partnerships with leading life science companies such as Sanofi, Roche and AstraZeneca. It is a founding member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance. For more information, visit http://www.voluntis.com/.

Insulia® provides automated basal insulin dose recommendations and coaching messages for people with type 2 diabetes while enabling the health care team to remotely monitor progress. A healthcare practitioner prescribes Insulia using their dedicated web portal and sets up the treatment plan rules that will adjust basal insulin dosing based on the person’s specific needs. The user then receives an activation code to get started with their personalized app. Once downloaded, the app uses blood glucose readings and any hypo symptoms to recommend doses in real-time. These are constantly updated using clinical algorithms built into the application. Data is automatically shared with the health care team, who can remotely monitor the patient’s progress toward their goal thanks to tailored notifications. This enables providers to deliver tailored telemedicine services, a practice increasingly supported by payers worldwide. Insulia is available for people using any brand of basal insulin including Lantus®, Levemir®, Toujeo®, Tresiba® (U-100) and Basaglar®. For more information, visit www.insulia.com.

Media Contacts:
Amélie Janson for Voluntis
Email: [email protected]
Tel : +33 1 80 03 19 52

Juliette Bogus
PressComm PR for WellDoc
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +410.980.5687

¹ Quinn CC, et al. Diabetes TechnolTher.2008 ;10(3) :160-168. Quinn CC, et al. Diabetes Care. 2011: 34(9): 1934-1942. 
Richard Katz, MD; George Washington University Medical Center; Journal of Health Communication, December 2011. 
Quinn, CC, et al. Glycemic Control:  Impact on Physician Prescribing Behavior, Presentation ADA 72ndScientific Sessions, 2012.
Tang PY, et al. eHealth-Assisted Lay Health Coaching for Diabetes Self-Management Support American Diabetes Association  
76^th Scientific Sessions Poster Presentation 2016 Presented at AADE San Diego 2016.