Epicore Biosystems and Denka Partner to Tackle Asia's Dehydration Crisis Through Sweat-Sensing Wearable Technology

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Aug 30, 2022, 09:10 ET

Partnership launches Epicore Biosystems into the Asia market, expanding its global footprint

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Epicore Biosystems, a digital health company developing advanced sweat-sensing wearables that provide real-time personalized health insights for hydration, stress and wellness, today announced a partnership with Denka Corporation, a Japan-based multinational technology and materials company. Under the agreement, Epicore Biosystems and Denka will collaborate on strategic initiatives to pilot and distribute Epicore's portfolio of advanced wearable hydration solutions in Japan and expand into Asia markets.

The partnership comes at a critical time as rising heatwaves continue to spread across Asia with no signs of slowing down as experts warn the world could hit a climate high by 2024. As a result, many Asia residents are experiencing excessive heat exposure and dehydration, which can have harmful effects on cognitive and physical performance, as well as physiological function. In June 2022 alone, more than 15,000 people needed hospital care across Japan. These issues are more notably visible among individuals in sports, industrial work, and military training, among others.

"As temperatures continue to rise in countries around the globe, dehydration has become a leading cause of concern," said Roozbeh Ghaffari, CEO and co-founder of Epicore Biosystems. "There is now an enormous demand to address these challenges and identify personalized solutions for tackling hydration problems before they impact long-term health. Our collaboration with Denka enables us to unlock new opportunities and address hydration challenges head-on within the Asia market."

Epicore Biosystems develops advanced wearable solutions that measure sweat biometrics and provide customized recovery insights about hydration, including sweat rate, total sweat loss, sodium chloride concentration and total sodium chloride loss — all captured with an unobtrusive wearable sweat sensor, analyzed through a proprietary cloud engine, and delivered directly to the wearer through a smartphone application and cloud portal. Denka and Epicore Biosystems will first survey the needs of those within the sports and wellness industries in Asia, with plans to expand into industrial and medical applications, such as identifying dehydration and fatigue in elderly patients, soon after.

"Recent summers in Japan have been extremely hot, and countermeasures against heat stroke and dehydration are an urgent issue," said Nobuyuki Yoshino, managing executive officer at Denka. "This partnership will enable us to leverage Epicore Biosystems' wearable hydration solutions to address the needs of athletes, as well as industrial workers, who are impacted most by the rising temperatures. Through collaboration with Epicore Biosystems, we hope to contribute to solving various health issues."

Epicore Biosystems' suite of sweat-sensing wearables includes the Gx Sweat Patch created in partnership with PepsiCo and Gatorade, the Discovery Patch® Sweat Collection System, and the Connected Hydration wearable hydration sensor and mobile application tailored for industrial athletes and sports.

The technology has been developed and tested with leading sports physiology labs and research hospitals, including the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, University of Connecticut Korey Stringer Institute, University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Human Health and Performance, and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.

Denka and Epicore Biosystems' partnership officially went into effect this month with the goal to bring personalized hydration products to the Asia markets in the next 18 months.

To learn more about the company and its solutions, visit https://www.epicorebiosystems.com/.

About Denka

Denka is a chemical manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company specializes in developing business activities on a global scale across a wide range of fields from inorganic and organic chemicals to electronic materials and pharmaceuticals. Founded in 1915, Denka has steadily continued to develop and manufacture products that contribute to the development of society by fully utilizing its unique concepts and technological capabilities. To learn more, visit https://www.denka.co.jp/eng/

About Epicore Biosystems

Founded in 2017, Epicore Biosystems is a digital health company developing advanced sweat-sensing wearables that provide real-time personalized health insights for hydration, stress and wellness. Their clinically validated products are deployed globally and licensed by leading Fortune 500 companies, the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health in the sports and fitness, occupational safety and clinical trials industries.

Epicore Biosystems was co-founded by leading scientists from Northwestern University's Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics. The founding team has several decades of experience launching science-backed medical wearables and consumer health products. To learn more, visit https://www.epicorebiosystems.com/.

SOURCE Epicore Biosystems, Inc.