Bayer Digital Healthcare UKI has today announced the launch of its first digital patient support package, My Kidney Assistant, designed to provide type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with the information and resources to help monitor and improve their kidney health. The package will be rolled out to a cohort of T2D patients in England, including patients who have already been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD). 

The technology was created by the newly established Bayer Digital Health UKI in collaboration with leading patient engagement specialists, Cognitant Group, via joint-working with local healthcare professionals and patient groups, with additional content from Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. My Kidney Assistant hosts curated, interactive, multimedia content to support the making of healthy lifestyle decisions. This includes stopping smoking tips, diet planning support and exercise advice. 

In addition, the digital platform allows users to log health data (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar), test results (urine, kidney function), and medication adherence. It enables the setting of personal goals (including weight loss, activity levels, and alcohol reduction) and delivers medication adherence reminders. 

Expected results include an improved ability of patients to understand and manage their risk of CKD, and - for those already diagnosed with CKD - an improved ability to self-manage health and treatment in order to reduce avoidable disease progression. 

Meeting an urgent need for accessible kidney health information 

In the UK, it is estimated that over 4.6 million people are living with type 2 diabetes, including almost 800,000 undiagnosed¹, and as many as 40% of people with type 2 diabetes could eventually develop CKD in T2D³.

To reduce the prevalence of CKD in the population, there is a need for accessible health information and tools to support people to manage and monitor their kidney health. T2D is a chronic condition that requires continuous management, and digital solutions can assist in maintaining lifestyle changes, adhering to medication regimens, and tracking progress over time, which is crucial for long-term kidney health. 

Accessible kidney health information delivered through digital platforms enables people to make informed decisions, engage in shared decision-making with healthcare providers, and take control of their health according to a personalised plan. Digital solutions can also help healthcare providers optimise their resources by reducing the burden on in-person visits for routine care.

Antonio Payano, CEO Bayer plc, Senior Bayer Representative, Head of Pharmaceuticals at Bayer UK & Ireland, says:

“The opportunity that digital health solutions could offer to improve outcomes and wellbeing for patients, and to relieve NHS pressures, is an exciting area of interest to Bayer in the UK. 

“By working with expert partners, our Digital Health team can move at speed to exploit the rapidly evolving technologies and talent pool that the UK has to offer, at the interface between digital, AI and healthcare to create innovative solutions such as My Kidney Assistant.”

Nigel Brokenshire, Head of Digital Healthcare UK/I, Bayer plc, says:

“We are very pleased to bring this digital health offering to the market and help to

address a known unmet need for type 2 diabetes patients. 

“We look forward to working with our partners to better understand the value added from My Kidney Assistant and also explore how it can be enhanced to provide even greater functionality and support those at risk of kidney disease, allowing for even earlier identification and prevention of complications.”

Dr Tim Ringrose, co-founder and CEO at Cognitant, says:

“61% of England’s working-age population find health information difficult to

understand ⁴, and studies have found that 40% to 80% of the information given during appointments is forgotten immediately⁵. This reduces adherence to treatment and healthy behaviours and prevents shared decision making about care, all of which have been recognised as necessary to improve kidney health outcomes following research from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“My Kidney Assistant is a support package that’s been specially created to fulfil an important need. It is an example of how multiple stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem can collaborate to create impactful digital support programmes, pooling their expertise to produce a tool that really makes a difference to the engagement and health outcomes of type 2 diabetes patients.”

ENDS

Bayer media contact:
Veronica Yao, +44 (0) 7870 485 926
Email: veronica.yao@bayer.com 

Cognitant media contact:
Jess Farmery,
Email: jess.farmery@somx.health

About Chronic Kidney Disease associated with Type 2 Diabetes
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common and potentially deadly condition that is generally underrecognised⁶. CKD is one of the most frequent complications arising from diabetes and is also an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease^2,7.  Up to 40% of all patients with type 2 diabetes develop chronic kidney disease.^{3 ,8, 9} Despite guideline-directed therapies, patients with CKD associated with T2D remain at high risk of CKD progression and cardiovascular events.^10,11,12  It is estimated that CKD affects more than 160 million people with T2D worldwide.^2,13 CKD associated with T2D is the main cause of end stage kidney disease and often leads to patients requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant to stay alive.^10,11 Patients with CKD associated with T2D are three times more likely to die from a cardiovascular-related cause than those with type 2 diabetes alone.¹⁴

About Bayer Digital Healthcare UKI

Bayer Digital Healthcare UKI was established with the vision to bring digital health technologies (DTH) to life. Bayer UKI believes that the way healthcare is provided in the UK needs to be via an integrated approach through innovative and transformative solutions that utilise digital therapeutics alongside more traditional interventions. These solutions can apply to different healthcare priorities, from supporting disease awareness and prevention programmes, enabling early and accurate diagnosis, to personalising healthcare pathways. Bayer has an established foothold in various therapeutic areas and has started to explore how the integration of DHT will lead to better patient outcomes. The Digital Health team aspires to enable evidence-based, high-quality DHTs, co-designed by end users, that can address existing issues, demonstrate value and be accessible to all.  

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.co.uk.

About Cognitant Group

Cognitant are global leaders in patient engagement, on a mission to co-create and deliver validated resources that equip people to improve their own health. They connect the healthcare ecosystem to develop and deliver insight-driven, multimedia content.

Cognitant’s clinically-led team has created Healthinote in collaboration with patients and stakeholders across the health sector, an integrated patient learning platform that connects people to their care. 

Forward-Looking Statements 

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.co.uk. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments. 

References: 

1.     “Number of people living with diabetes in the UK tops 5 million for the first time.” Diabetes UK, 13 April 2023, https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/number-people-living-diabetes-uk-tops-5-million-first-time. Last accessed: October 2023.

2.     International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas Ninth Edition. 2019.

3.     Wu B, Bell K, Stanford A et al. Understanding CKD among patients with T2DM: prevalence, temporal trends, and treatment patterns-NHANES 2007-2012. BMJ open diabetes research & care 2016;4: e000154. 

4.     “Local action on health inequalities: improving health literacy.” GOV.UK, 15 September 2015, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-action-on-health-inequalities-improving-health-literacy. Last accessed: October 2023.

5.     Kessels, Roy PC. “Patients' memory for medical information - PMC.” NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539473/. Last accessed: October 2023.

6.     Breyer MD et al. Developing Treatments for Chronic Kidney Disease in the 21st Century. Seminars in Nephrology. 2016. 36(6), 436–447.

7.     Weiner DE et al. Chronic kidney disease as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: a pooled analysis of community-based studies. J Am Soc Nephrol 2004; 15:1307-1315.

8.     Doshi SM et al. Diagnosis and management of type 2 diabetic kidney disease. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 12(8), 1366-1373. 2017.

9.      International Diabetes Federation. Diabetes and Kidneys. Available at: https://idf.org/our-activities/care-prevention/diabetes-and-the-kidney.html. Last Accessed: October 2023.

10.   Alicic R Z et al. Diabetic Kidney Disease: Challenges, Progress, and Possibilities. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2017. 12(12), 2032–2045.

11.   Kidney Fund.org. Kidney Failure. Available at: https://www.kidneyfund.org/kidney-disease/kidney-failure/. Last accessed: October 2023.

12.   Thomas M C, et al. Diabetic kidney disease. Nature Reviews Disease Primers. 2015; 1:15018.

13.   Zheng Y et al. Global aetiology and epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2018. 14(2), 88-98.

Afkarian M, et al. Kidney Disease and Increased Mortality Risk in Type 2 Diabetes. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. 2013. 24(2), 302-8. 

PP-UN-CART-GB-0166/October 2023