[JPM 2024] Kakao Healthcare's AI diabetes solution to hit Japan, US markets

SAN FRANCISCO -- Kakao Healthcare, the digital health care unit under Korea's platform giant Kakao, revealed its aspirations to launch the AI-based blood sugar management service, PASTA, in Japan later this year, and the US by the end of next year, the company's CEO Hwang Hee said at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference Tuesday.

PASTA, developed in collaboration with global companies Dexcom, Novo Nordisk and iSense, is a blood sugar management service utilizing a continuous glucose monitoring system on smartphones.

The service features AI technology for food recognition and nutrient analysis, real-time blood sugar measurement, live guidance, analysis reports, as well as the ability to share blood sugar data with family and acquaintances.

The acronym PASTA stands for "personal," "accessible," "supportive," "tech-enabled," and "affordable."

"Among the keywords, 'affordable' holds the most value, as this ensures the service's success will benefit a wider audience." Hwang said during the event's Asia-Pacific track presentation session.

Kakao Healthcare made its official debut in March 2022, and is expected to release the service in Korea for the first time in February.

The CEO highlighted the global impact of diabetes, projecting a population of 642 million people affected by 2030, with 39 percent potentially experiencing chronic complications. The resulting economic burden is estimated to reach $2.3 trillion, nearly 2 percent of global gross domestic product, Hwang said.

The initial goal of PASTA is to empower patients to manage their diabetes, but Kakao Healthcare envisions expanding the service to address chronic diseases. This expansion aims to enhance patients' quality of life, improve access to medical care and ultimately reduce social costs.

Additionally, the company plans to offer "PASTA Connect" to medical institutions, facilitating easy use by medical staff for patient treatment and education. By integrating PASTA service data with the hospital's EMR system, Hwang looks to provide support for easier and more efficient patient treatment.

Meanwhile, Hwang presented Project Delta, Kakao Healthcare's AI technology fostering collaborative learning among affiliated hospitals for clinical data analysis and predictions.

The initiative standardizes clinical data from diverse medical institutions, making AI and machine learning applications accessible. Hwang said that the company is working with Google Cloud for its data curation project, with an ambition to lead real-world evidence-based medical data analysis.