Former Fierce 15 winner Propeller Health is being acquired by ResMed in a $225 million deal that aims to broaden the reach of its connected respiratory devices to patients across all stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Propeller’s digital medicine platform, with its attachable sensors for inhalers to track medication use among early-stage COPD patients, will complement ResMed’s cloud-connected ventilators and portable oxygen concentrators for patients in the later stages of the disease.

In addition, Propeller plans to use the deal, its proceeds and ResMed's backing to launch large commercial programs in the U.S. and internationally over the next year, pursuing broad adoption starting in 2019, as CEO and co-founder David Van Sickle told FierceMedtech.

"Acquiring Propeller is a significant step for ResMed toward becoming the global leader in digital health for COPD," said ResMed CEO Mick Farrell in a statement.

"By working with Propeller’s existing partners to offer digital solutions for respiratory care pharmaceuticals and building on our proven ability to support digital solutions at scale, we can positively impact the lives of even more of the 380 million people worldwide who are living with this debilitating chronic disease," Farrell added.

Under the deal, Propeller will operate as a standalone business, and will maintain its product lines and partnerships with pharma and healthcare organizations. The agreement is expected to be finalized by the end of March 2019, or the third quarter of ResMed’s fiscal year.

"ResMed shares our belief that connected health solutions create vastly better experiences and outcomes for people with chronic respiratory disease," said Van Sickle. "Joining forces enables us to accelerate the adoption of Propeller’s solutions at a global scale, and serve as a powerful platform for a broad set of pharmaceutical and healthcare partners."

In an email to Propeller’s more than 90 employees shared on the company’s blog, Van Sickle said that no changes are expected to its team, customers or day-to-day business processes.

"In the year since we first got to know them, we came to realize a remarkable cultural fit," he wrote. "We’ll be able to make use of the resources that a large organization has to offer, while providing all of you with additional opportunities to grow and contribute."

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