PainChek gets Singapore regulatory clearance, signs landmark deal with nation’s leading aged care provider
Singapore’s first purpose-built premium nursing home developer and operator, Allium Healthcare, has signed a two-year licence agreement with PainChek.
Australian medical device company PainChek (ASX: PCK) has advanced its international expansion strategy with receipt of a key regulatory clearance from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority and the subsequent signing of a landmark commercial agreement with the country’s leading aged care provider Allium Healthcare Holdings.
The two-year licencing deal will see PainChek’s smart phone-based pain assessment and monitoring application employed by Allium across its network of nursing homes, providing staff with the capacity to better assess and quantify patient pain levels and enhance treatment plans.
The app will also be integrated into Allium’s homecare packages offered to elderly patients living at home with dementia and communication difficulties.
Dementia stats
The agreement signals PainChek’s foray into Singapore and provides a springboard for entry into the broader Asian market with its large ageing population.
According to a 2015 study by Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health, one in 10 Singapore residents aged 60 and above may have dementia, translating to almost 82,000 people in 2018 and expected to exceed 100,000 in a few years’ time.
Alzheimer’s Disease International reports there are around 23 million people throughout the whole of Asia who live with dementia, with the region set to experience the second greatest increase in numbers of people with dementia by 2030.
PainChek managing director Philip Duffas said the company’s app will be particularly useful to Singapore’s homecare services industry.
“Many people in Asia who live with dementia have a desire to remain at home and often have good family support to do so,” he said.
“Allium will be able to use PainChek under its Shared Care program to provide accurate pain assessments across the continuum of care and help those people live life the way they want to.”
Local performance
PainChek continues to grow its local market presence, posting a positive June quarter performance anchored by an increase in the number of contracted aged care beds and aged care facilities Australia-wide.
In addition, the number of PainChek clinical assessments has grown to more than 36,000 during the quarter, reflecting continued strong take up and clinical utility of the company’s app.
“There are now more than 140 aged care facilities that have annual subscription agreements in Australia [with us] and we have contracted annual recurring revenue exceeding $500,0000 when implemented,” the company said.
At mid-afternoon, PainChek shares were up 2.94% to $0.175.