Holy Young BioMedical Co., Ltd. Signs Partnership Agreement with Lundoch Diagnostics AB (Sweden) to Promote AI-driven Diabetes Risk Prediction IVD Products (LDcoder) in Taiwan

Holy Young BioMedical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Holy Young”) and Lundoch Diagnostics AB (hereinafter referred to as “Lundoch”) signed a market development partnership agreement on January 16, 2025. The collaboration aims to jointly promote the development and adoption of the AI-driven in vitro diagnostic (IVD) product, LDcoder for diabetes early risk detection; and the companion diagnostic IVD product, M-coder for guided precision treatment of diabetes and obesity medication GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist, in the Taiwanese market. This partnership seeks to combine the resources and expertise of both parties to provide early risk detection and optimized personal health management for diabetes prevention in Taiwan, as well as to predict therapeutic efficacy for diabetes incretin treatments.

Diabetes is a major global public health issue, with its high prevalence and risk of complications posing significant challenges to individuals and healthcare systems. According to the 2017-2020 Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT), the prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 18 and over in Taiwan is 11.1%, affecting approximately 2.18 million people. Additionally, over 5 million individuals are in the prediabetes stage. 

More than 90% of diabetes cases are lifestyle-associated type 2 diabetes. It has been shown in several large international studies that type 2 diabetes is largely preventable 4 years before disease onset via lifestyle intervention (Ref: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa012512). LDcoder that Holy Young is introducing to Taiwan market is a world leading technology that detects diabetes risk at least 4 years before diabetes develops, which makes diabetes prevention possible.

Holy Young focuses on introducing and developing innovative medical technologies and has extensive expertise in IVD domain. The collaboration introduces LDcoder, an AI-powered IVD diagnostic product developed by Lundoch. LDcoder was developed based on the research findings of Lundoch CEO and Lund University scientist Professor Yang De Marinis, which was published in leading scientific journal Nature Communications in 2021 under the title “Elevated circulating follistatin associates with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes”. The study revealed significant correlation between circulating follistatin and diabetes risk. This groundbreaking IVD diagnostic technology LDcoder applies machine learning algorithem and precision detection of biomarkers including follistatin, detects diabetes risk 4 years before disease onset with an accuracy rate of 87%. LDcoder offers a novel approach for the early diagnosis and prevention of diabetes, helping individuals and healthcare systems take preventive measures and reduce the disease's impact. LDcoder is the world’s first and only IVD product capable of detecting early diabetes risk. It has already obtained market approval in the European Union, with applications underway in other markets.

Additionally, Lundoch is applying the same biomarker, follistatin, and AI algorithms in collaboration with Eli Lilly, and developed a companion diagnostic tool, M-coder. This technology predicts the therapeutic efficacy of Eli Lilly's diabetes and obesitydrug, Mounjaro. It enables early identification of patients most likely to benefit from this novel therapy, thereby reducing inefficient healthcare resource spending.

“We are excited to partner with Lundoch. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Holy Young’s mission to promote innovative diagnostic technologies,” said Holy Young CEO Raymond Yang. “This partnership will significantly enhance Taiwan’s early diabetes prediction and prevention capabilities, offering better health management and preventive services to reduce the risk of diabetes and improve the quality of life for Taiwanese.”

Lundoch CEO Yang De Marinis stated, “Through our collaboration with Holy Young, we are bringing advanced diabetes risk prediction technology to Taiwan. We hope that Lundoch’s technology will make outstanding contributions to preventive medicine and precision treatment for diabetes.”

With the signing of this partnership agreement, both parties will work together to apply for market approval for LDcoder from Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) to implement the new technologies in Taiwan.

（Group photo: from left to right, the 1st to 3rd positions are Lundoch CEO Yang De Marinis,  Holy Young GM Raymond Yang, and Holy Young VP Mile Hsu)

Reference:

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3. Wu, C., Borné, Y., Gao, R. et al. Elevated circulating follistatin associates with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Nat Commun 12, 6486 (202https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26536-w
4. Knowler, W. C., Barrett-Connor, E., Fowler, S. E., et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 346(6), 393–403 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa012512