Novartis and Qualcomm to partner on supporting digital medicine research

Novartis has announced that it will be partnering to establish a joint investment company with Qualcomm Ventures, aimed at supporting digital medicine research.

Up to $100 million (66.15 million pounds) has been allocated to support early-stage companies with digital technologies, products or services that can optimise the value of other medicines by providing integrated solutions for physicians and patients.

At the moment, new technologies such as smartphone-enabled devices, mobile applications, wearable devices and big and small data innovations are emerging to facilitate delivery of the medicines to individual patients, as well as to support robust pharmacoeconomic analyses.

This new partnership combines Novartis' expertise in the research, development and manufacturing of innovative medicines with Qualcomm's understanding of digital and mobile technologies.

David Epstein, division head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said: "We are excited by the potential of digital medicines to further enhance our mission of the right drug for the right patient at the right time, helping people live longer with a better quality of life."

This comes after the firm agreed to collaborate with Intellia Therapeutics and Caribou Biosciences on drug discovery partnerships that utilise CRISPR genome editing technology earlier this month.