Dive Brief:
- ResMed has acquired Mementor to add an insomnia digital health application to its portfolio of products in Germany.
- Mementor is the developer of Somnio, a prescription app that uses cognitive behavioral therapy to try to improve the sleeping patterns of people with insomnia within three months.
- ResMed will integrate the startup into its German operation as a separate business segment and use it as a platform for further digital health development.
Dive Insight:
ResMed has made two moves in Germany in recent months, agreeing to buy health software company MediFox Dan for $1 billion in June and following up with the acquisition of Mementor this week.
The new deal, whose price was not disclosed, gives ResMed ownership of the only permanently approved digital health application in the field of sleep medicine in Germany. Around 10% of Germans are affected by clinically relevant insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help but access to in-person treatment is limited, leading Mementor to create an app that can scale the service.
In a randomized trial of 56 participants run by two of the founders of Mementor, use of a web-based unguided self-help program with automated feedback was associated with significant decreases in sleep-related cognitions, safety behaviors, depression and somatization. Some of the effects persisted through a 12-month follow-up assessment.
After Mementor is integrated into ResMed, Noah Lorenz, the co-founder and CEO of the startup, and Katherina Jekerle will lead the division. Jekerle previously worked as ResMed’s senior marketing director in Germany. Lorenz and Jekerle will work on further digital health developments.
The acquisition adds to the digital capabilities ResMed has built up in recent years through internal programs and other takeovers, including its $225 million buyout of connected inhaler company Propeller Health. When ResMed bought Medifox, it pointed to government regulations supporting digitization as a driver of its desire to expand its digital capabilities in Germany.
