European digital hypertension start-up selected for SV accelerator

A Swiss-based digital start-up aiming to transform the management of hypertension has been selected as part of an inaugural digital accelerator programme in the US.

Amicomed, a company that claims to have developed the first ever fully digital consumer hypertension lifestyle modification app, is the only European company to be selected as part of the Launchpad Digital Health – Ground Zero (LPDH-GZ) accelerator in San Francisco.

The company’s three-month lifestyle modification programme helps people manage their hypertension by acting on lifestyle changes. The Amicomed app, currently only available in Italy, allows people to keep track of their blood pressure, eating habits and physical activity, providing improvement where necessary.

In a study investigating the app’s use in hypertension patients, 70% of participants were shown to maintain a systolic blood pressure reduction of up to 20mmHg with an average reduction of 5mmHg.

The company has presented trial results at European Society of Hypertension, American College of Cardiology and American Society of Hypertension conferences.

“Amicomed’s hypertension management service will benefit greatly from this digital health program to enhance our ambitious and innovative project, making it accessible to the US population with hypertension,” said Giangiacomo Rocco di Torrepadula, CEO and co-founder of Amicomed.

Amicomed’s enrolment in the LPDH-GZ programme – a four-month programme designed to foster the latest in digital innovations – will give the company access to a large hypertension market in the US where an estimated 70 million Americans have the condition.

Launchpad Digital Health itself has been busy expanding its own operations. Earlier this month, the company opened a new headquarters in San Francisco in order to accommodate the companies enrolled in its Ground Zero accelerator.

The company has also recently invested in nine digital health providers, including a meditation pain management platform Wellbrain, rehabilitated sober individual social network platform SoberGrid, and cardiac rehabilitation platform Moving Analytics.

Launchpad Digital Health remains one of the top investors in digital health worldwide, investing in 10 seed rounds and two follow-on investments in 2015 alone.