[Edaily Reporter Han Kwangbeom ] SamsungElectronics(005930)Samsung Electronics has partnered with Alcedis, a German company specializing in digital clinical trials, to begin actively supporting clinical trials for new drug development using the Galaxy Watch. The plan is to accelerate the digital transformation of pharmaceutical and biotech research by utilizing everyday biometric data collected via wearable devices as clinical indicators.
SamsungElectronics announced on the 23rd that it has entered into a partnership with Alcedis, a company with expertise in digital clinical trials and healthcare research. Founded in 1992, Alcedis has conducted clinical trials in various fields—including oncology, cardiology, and neurology—for over 30 years. Currently a subsidiary of the global healthcare AI company Huma Group, it is leading the digital transformation of clinical research.
Through this collaboration, the two companies will jointly develop methods to convert biometric data collected in real-life settings via the Galaxy Watch’s sensors into clinical indicators that can be used to evaluate the efficacy and safety of new drugs. They plan to collaborate extensively across the entire clinical research process, from data collection to participant monitoring, clinical trial operations, and regulatory compliance.
The digital transformation of clinical research maximizes data reliability by collecting real-time biometric data from daily life using wearable technologies such as the Galaxy Watch. It has recently emerged as a key topic in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, as it reduces the burden on patients associated with hospital visits and thereby increases clinical participation rates. Through this collaboration, SamsungElectronics and Alchedis have expanded the scope of wearable technology applications from everyday health management to the field of medical research.
Choi Jong-min, Senior Vice President of the Health Development Group at SamsungElectronics’ MX Business Division, stated, “Clinical research is evolving toward a deeper understanding of human health as diverse partners with technical and scientific expertise join forces.” He added, “We have long supported researchers with various development tools, such as the Samsung Health SDK, and through this collaboration, we will ensure that everyday data leads to new drug development and innovations for patients.”
Hanno Härtlein, CEO of Alchedis, emphasized, “The future of clinical research depends on how much meaningful health data we can capture in everyday life, beyond traditional clinical settings.” He added, “Our collaboration with SamsungElectronics will combine both companies’ strengths and scalable infrastructure to accelerate research and lead to more patient-centered healthcare innovations.”
Meanwhile, as the healthcare paradigm has recently shifted from a hospital-centric to an everyday-life-centric approach, and from post-treatment care to preventive care, SamsungElectronics is focusing on establishing a virtuous cycle in which everyday data is utilized in healthcare research to benefit patients.
As part of these efforts, the company is building a “Connected Care” ecosystem that links health data from wearable devices to actual medical services. SamsungElectronics acquired “Xealth,” a platform company that connects digital healthcare solutions to approximately 500 major hospitals in the United States, and plans to use this to integrate health data from Galaxy devices with hospital electronic health record (EHR) systems to support preventive, personalized care.
