Kakao Healthcare ties up with Dexcom for global diabetes biz

South Korea’s Kakao Healthcare Corp. has taken a step forward to expand its business into the global market by collaborating with US medical device manufacturer DexCom Inc. in the blood glucose management service market.

The wholly owned subsidiary of South Korean mobile platform giant Kakao Corp. said on Thursday it signed a definitive agreement with DexCom to provide a digital blood sugar management service with Kakao Healthcare’s software and artificial intelligence technology combined with DexCom’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems.

Kakao Healthcare plans to expand the supply of CGM systems by offering the dashboard system only for medical professionals while helping to efficiently take care of diabetics.

The company is scheduled to launch the hyper-personalized digital diabetes management service in South Korea during the fourth quarter with an aim to expand the service into other markets such as the US, Japan and countries in the Middle East next year.

GLOBAL EXPANSION OF K-DIGITAL HEALTHCARE

“We will achieve global expansion of K-digital healthcare while making efforts to promote public health and create social values in South Korea,” said Kakao Healthcare CEO Hwang Hee.

In April, Kakao Healthcare and DexCom signed a memorandum of understanding to team up for the global joint business.

DexCom, a Nasdaq-listed company with a market capitalization of $49.6 billion, is a global major CGM manufacturer, leading diabetes care technology.

Its latest CGM model DexCom G7 offers the most accurate and simple method, with a short enzyme activation period, for blood glucose checks to help people gain greater control of their diabetes, according to the company.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.