F102 How are connected health devices becoming increasingly medically relevant (Mathieu Letombe, Withings)

Do you remember the first connected scale? It came to the market in 2009 by a French company called Withings. By today the company created a number of connected health devices and is increasing its efforts to expand its presence in the clinical space.

Withings offers a range of products: a connected scale, a digital thermometer, a wireless blood pressure cuff, a mat to detect sleep apnea, a smartwatch with ECG, and sleep apnea monitoring was released in 2020.

In its early stages, the company was producing wellness devices but now shifted its focus to medical devices with the aim of accelerating its presence in the clinical space. This is why a special B2B division for health professionals was established in 2019. 6 physicians work for the company in Paris, a CMO position recently opened in the US.

In the last few years, the market matured in the sense that the medical ecosystem became more receptive to digital health solutions, says the CEO of Withings Mathieu Letombe.

In this episode, he talks about:

the landscape of connected health devices,
quantification of health
how companies can attract doctors to work with them given the busy schedules clinicians have.

The company has a strong advisory board - Dr. John Halamka, President of the Mayo Clinic Platform, Dr. Stéphane Laurent, former Head of Clinical Pharmacology in Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou in Paris, and Craig Lipset, former head of Clinical Innovation at Pfizer.

Withings vs. other wearables providers

Mathieu Letombe believes the competition on the market is good and sees many differences compared to their competitors. Withings for example wants to have products with long battery life but limited functions. Compared to Apple Watch, the Withings watch has a battery life of 30 days.

Asked about the extent to which the users analyse their own data, Mathieu says most users of Withings products are data enthusiasts. The more data is collected, the more people will look at the data. Mathieu believes that design is a key component contributing to device adoption. “Design and battery life need to fit in the routine of people because this contributes to how willing are people going to be to use devices. This is a breakthrough discovery for medicine - going from annoyance because one must use a medical device, to the excitement of the users because UX is good without to many frictions which would discourage the use of devices,” says Mathieu Letombe.

An additional useful resource for further reading: Prioritizing Health Pros' Pain Points in Connected Medical Device Design.

Tune in for the full discussion.

Some questions addressed:

You’ve been with Withings for almost 5 years before going to the digital health department at Nokia and then back to Withings, where you are currently the CEO. Can you tell me a little bit more about these transitions - was Nokia more advanced in digital health than Withings and in what state was Withings when you became the CEO?

Withings offers a variety of products for the quantified self. Do you know how many users are actually doing quantification in an almost scientific manner - actually taking measurements and analysing data?

How do you process data? Do you share it with third parties?
Are you noticing any negative effects of COVID-19 based on your data? Did you make any population health related observations?

Can connected health devices be impactful if one does not use them consistently?

In 2019 a B2B division for health professionals was founded within the company. What exactly does it do? Is your focus changing to B2B fom B2C?
In 2020 Withings launched a smartwatch with ECG and sleep apnea monitoring. What was the main aim of the watch given that so many people use Apple watch? Are you integrated with Apple Watch?

There are over 300.000 digital health apps on the market. In some places, apps can be prescribed by doctors. However, doctors working in clinical practice are increasingly busy. How do you approach them for collaborations and how do you see Withings solutions fall in their workflow?
How do you differentiate from other connected health providers?

You recently announced a 60 million funding round and plan on adding 100 new positions in the US and France by the end of the year. What kind of profiles are you looking for?

How do your experiences in France compare to those in the US? How are consumers different, how is the attitude of regulators and healthcare systems different from your company’s perspective?