Dehaier Medical Systems said today it is partnering with China Sciences Group to provide its wearable sleep apnea products to the Chinese pension and health industry through China Science’s elder care platform.
Dehaier is joining China Sciences and Chia Tai Pharmaceutical Group to launch a cooperative “Elderly Sleep Apnea Comprehensive Disease Solution Project” to bring medical devices as and support from China Science’s “Hua Kang” cloud-based health management to the elderly of the region.
“As China’s population ages, we believe the pension and health industry is likely to grow. According to the latest statistics of National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China, China’spopulation over the age of 60 is expected to grow from approximately 220 million people in 2015 to about 440 million in 2050. Since between 20% and 40% of the elderly population suffers from some level of sleep apnea, we expect that a growing elderly population may increase our industry’s potential market size to nearly $2 billion by 2050,” CEO Chen Ping said in a press release.
China Sciences is a state-owned entity organized under the China Academy of Sciences, the company said. The new project is expected to reach approximately 100 health and pension service institutions in 2016 and 600 in 2017.
Dehaier will provide wearable sleep respiratory products and home ventilator products through the deal, and expects the use of the Hui Kang platform will “increase the number of potential end users and the quality of contact with those users.”
In April, DeHaier said a Chinese mobile Internet firm, Hangzhou Liaison Interactive Information Technology (SHE:002280), took out a $20 million stake in the company.
The $1.80-per-share deal is a 35% premium on Dehaier’s $1.33 closing price yesterday. It includes warrants for 1 million shares exercisable at $2.20 apiece and is expected to close by June 30, Dehaier said. The company said late last year that it was considering the Liaison Interactive deal.
The Shenzhen-based company said in February that it plans to ditch its unprofitable medical device businesses so it can focus on its wearable sleep respiratory business, with a new subsidiary called Connection Wearable Health Technology focused on “wearable sleep respiratory and mobile health-related businesses.”
