ResMed, ATS Foundation Award $100,000 research grant to Claude Farah, PhD

Feb. 3, 2020 – ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) and ATS Foundation have awarded their third $100,000 Research Fellowship grant to Claude Farah, PhD, of the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, to study how remote monitoring can help improve the management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

The aim of Farah’s study is to detect early changes in lung function from daily recordings and notify patients when to commence more intensive treatment or seek medical attention. In his application, he predicts that “this intervention will reduce the chance of patients needing hospitalisation for these lung attacks.”

To date, the burden has been on patients to identify their own symptom flare-ups. According to a 2014 ATS article “Exacerbation of COPD,”

“Exacerbations can come on very quickly (hours to days), while finding out what causes the exacerbation can be a very slow process (up to a week)…. Thus, the best person to help identify an exacerbation early is you [the patient].”

“This grant is important as it tests how integration of technology that enables convenient at-home remote monitoring of patients’ lung function helps with earlier detection and interventions of COPD exacerbations, aiming to prevent further deterioration in their condition,” said Mihaela Teodorescu, MD, MS, chair of the ATS Assembly on Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology. “This grant will also help set the foundation for Dr. Farah’s future projects and opens the door for networking with leaders in the field.”

“Remote monitoring has helped track and improve therapy for millions of patients with sleep apnea, heart disease, diabetes, and more,” said Carlos M. Nunez, MD, ResMed’s chief medical officer. “If it can help people with COPD stay out of the hospital more and/or delay the progression of their disease, that would mark a life-changing advancement in the treatment of this chronic disease, the world’s fourth leading killer.”

More than 250 million people worldwide have COPD, according to the World Health Organization; estimated prevalence is as high as 380 million.

The application process for the next cycle of grant opportunities will open in Spring of 2020. Visit the ATS Foundation website to learn more.

###

Since its inception, the ATS Foundation Research Program has awarded $19.3 million to 263 investigators, both in the U.S. and internationally. These researchers have gone on to receive $330 million in federal funding. That’s a return on investment of $17 per dollar awarded. Without this “seed” support, these researchers may not have received their subsequent grants, advancing our understanding of diseases in pulmonary, critical care and sleep. You can learn more about our most recent awardees here.

At ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) we pioneer innovative solutions that treat and keep people out of the hospital, empowering them to live healthier, higher-quality lives. Our cloud-connected medical devices transform care for people with sleep apnea, COPD, and other chronic diseases. Our comprehensive out-of-hospital software platforms support the professionals and caregivers who help people stay healthy in the home or care setting of their choice. By enabling better care, we improve quality of life, reduce the impact of chronic disease, and lower costs for consumers and healthcare systems in more than 140 countries. To learn more, visit ResMed.com and follow @ResMed.