Over 10.7% of children suffer from asthma in France, which represents a major public health issue with compliance estimated at barely 30% due to the cumbersome nature of the treatments and the complexity of the proper use of devices. This low compliance has considerable medical and economic consequences. The overall cost of poor compliance with chronic diseases reaches nearly €9.4 billion in France.
Enter French player in the digital therapy market, Ludocare, which has brought in €4.2 million to address the non-compliance issue. The round was backed by Karista and Bpifrance, which is participating via its Patient Autonome fund and the French Tech Seed fund. The funding will facilitate the launch of its clinical study and the implementation of a medical prescription strategy.
Founded in 2017 in Lyon, the French player has developed a connected medical companion dedicated to very young children suffering from asthma.
Ludocare’s robot rings and calls the child and accompanies the child step by step by stating the name of the medicines and their dosage as well as showing the right gestures to make through animations on the screen. It motivates the child by unlocking daily multimedia rewards. The robot also transmits data on treatments taken to parents via the connected application, data that can be shared with doctors during consultations.
The company claims the empowerment of young patients from an early age maximises their chances of optimal care and serene life in better health despite the pathology.
Alexandra de la Fontaine, Ludocare’s president and founder said: “We contribute to the improvement of the physical and psychological health of children and the expected mental relief of their families. This fundraising will allow us to demonstrate the clinical and economic benefits of our digital therapy.”
Catherine Boule, GM of Karista added: “The first results obtained from the robot deployed in over 200 families are very encouraging and show a drastic improvement in compliance over time. These results must now be validated clinically. Ludocare's strength also lies in its platform, which can be adapted to several chronic diseases.”
Joséphine Marie, an investor at Bpifrance, added: “We were attracted by Ludocare's unique positioning, which addresses a major public health and social problem - the lack of compliance among children suffering from chronic diseases, starting with asthma, the leading chronic pediatric disease whose management can be significantly improved. The potential to create a platform that is extended to other diseases and other countries seems to us to create value over time.”
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