Philips expands its Sleep & Respiratory Care portfolio with the acquisition of NightBalance
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced that it has acquired NightBalance, a digital health scale-up company based in the Netherlands and Venture Challenge alumnus, that has developed an innovative, easy to use device to treat positional obstructive sleep apnea and positional snoring. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
NightBalance’s Sleep Position Trainer (SPT) was designed as a comfortable and easy to use treatment alternative for people who suffer from positional obstructive sleep apnea. The SPT gently prompts them not to sleep on their back, avoiding the apneas from occurring during sleep. The SPT is CE-marked and is currently marketed in select countries in Europe [1].
''NightBalance offers a unique, patient friendly solution to treat positional obstructive sleep apnea and positional snoring that is highly complementary to our current offerings.'' - John Frank, Business Leader Sleep & Respiratory Care at Philips.
“NightBalance offers a unique, patient friendly solution to treat positional obstructive sleep apnea and positional snoring that is highly complementary to our current offerings," said John Frank, Business Leader Sleep & Respiratory Care at Philips. "This acquisition will help us further expand our leadership position in the growing home care market, and our ability to deliver integrated solutions that drive efficiencies and improved outcomes.”
“We founded NightBalance in 2009 with the ambition to improve the lives of positional apnea patients worldwide”, said Eline Vrijland-van Beest, CEO of NightBalance. “I am proud that our innovation is in good hands with Philips. Their strength in connected sleep therapy solutions and global reach will accelerate the accessibility of the Sleep Position Trainer”.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious condition in which breathing pauses and restarts during sleep. When most of these pauses occur when a person is lying on his or her back, it is called positional obstructive sleep apnea. Philips already offers a broad range of care solutions for people living with obstructive sleep apnea. This includes the award-winning Dream Family comprising DreamWear, a comprehensive portfolio of advanced mask designs, DreamStation, a CPAP therapy [2] system connecting patients and care teams, and DreamMapper, an application that helps patients adjust to sleep therapy and compliance.
[1] SPT is not available in the US
[2] Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy
Source: Philips
