Propeller Health and Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) announced a strategic partnership to provide Propeller’s FDA-cleared digital solution to Express Scripts members using inhaler sensors and a mobile app to manage asthma or COPD. This collaboration is the largest respiratory digital health deployment with a pharmacy benefit manager to date.
CNBC (Christina Farr) — Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefits manager in the U.S., has struck a deal with a Bay Area start-up to better treat patients with chronic respiratory problems.
The start-up, called Propeller Health, has an FDA-approved set of apps and tools for people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, such as a connected inhalers that are synced up to a user’s smartphone.
The idea behind the program is to help patients avoid over-using their so-called “rescue inhalers,” which could worsen symptoms over time, and to make sure they don’t neglect their controller medications that can be taken at anytime to prevent flare-ups. Essentially, it’s about saving money by helping patients prevent bad and expensive outcomes, like trips to the emergency room.
mHealthIntelligence (Eric Wicklund) — Federal regulators have approved the first digestible digital therapeutic, a pill with embedded sensors and an mHealth patch designed to help with medication adherence.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced approval late Monday of Ability MyCite, developed by Proteus Digital Health and Otsuka Pharmaceutical to treat patients with schizophrenia. acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder and for use as an add-on treatment for depression in adults.
“Being able to track ingestion of medications prescribed for mental illness may be useful for some patients,” Mitchell Mathis, MD, director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a press release. “The FDA supports the development and use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committed to working with companies to understand how technology might benefit patients and prescribers.”
Berlin-Milan, November 13, 2017 – The age of healthcare convergence has brought two great sectors of industry together: medicine and technology, creating new opportunities and themes in areas like health technology, digital therapies and health insurance innovation.
Frontiers Health conference reflects the collaborative and agile nature of this changing industry, where the seamless integration of medicine and health technology is replacing traditional silos for better health outcomes.
Following on the heels of its successful 2016 run, Frontiers Health 2017 is coming back to Berlin this November 16th and 17th at the spectacular AXICA, a few steps away from the Brandenburg Gate.
This year, over 400 entrepreneurs, investors and industry executives will be actively involved in enlightening keynotes & talks, engaging workshops, top speaker panels and many opportunities for networking. With over 100 startups and leading specialized investors in attendance, Frontiers Health will also feature a Startup & Investor Lounge area where innovative companies and potential partners can meet for one-to-one conversations and potential deal making as well as plenty of business meetings and challenges with promising start-ups to shape the next wave of industry partnerships.
Frontier Health’s Chairman, Roberto Ascione, CEO, Healthware International, says: “Frontiers Health has fast become one of the premiere conferences in the digital health space, combining a unique mix of attendees and presenters from investment funds, life science companies, health innovation hubs, insurance companies and digital health start-ups, providing for a unique platform to discuss how innovations in their respective fields are converging to re-invent and transform healthcare. Any success story born out of the conference will be a success for each and every one of the participants, as they will feel that, they too, actively contributed their part to this amazing journey”.
The 2017 line-up is comprised of true global experts from different areas of the health innovation ecosystem who will share their key insights and personal experiences in highly inspirational and informative talks and hands-on workshops in the pure Frontiers style.
Key topics will be:
Two highly curated session will be dedicated to the future of Health Insurance (moderated by Frederic Llordachs, Co-founder, Partner & Global Business Development Manager, Doctoralia) and Clinical Trials (moderated by Nana Bit-Avragim, Head of Strategic Relations, Medicinisto).
Top speakers line-up include among the others Jeff Dachis, Founder and CEO, One Drop, on how will Pharma adapt to the Digital Health reality, Indra Ioshi, Clinical Lead for NHS England talking How is the NHS going Digital?, Mariarosaria Taddeo, Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, focusing on Digital Ethics to Harness The Value of AI Applications in Healthcare, and Bart van der Sloot, Senior Researcher, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT) exploring Privacy and data protection in digital health.
About Frontiers Health
Frontiers Health is a spin off event of Frontiers Conferences, which designs and produces international conferences about technology and innovation since 2005. The yearly Frontiers Conference in Milan has become Italy’s leading conference for business, design and technology. The company was co-founded by Matteo Penzo, who also founded “Talent Garden”, the biggest co-working space in Milan, and is a technology practice executive at frog, and by Leandro Agro’ – a designer and entrepreneur with more than 20 years’ experience in the field of design and business innovation. Frontiers Health is chaired by Roberto Ascione, CEO of Healthware, the co-host organization of the yearly Frontiers Health conference.
In the fourth in his series of articles with speakers from this year’s Frontiers Health conference in Berlin, Marco Ricci speaks to the CEO of one of the founding companies of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance, Voluntis’ Pierre Leurent.
IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science Study — Health-related apps in five therapy areas could produce $7 billion in annual savings • Clinical evidence of Digital Health efficacy has grown substantially; 570 studies published with over a quarter released in 2017 • Clinical utilization has increased; 860 current trials worldwide with 82% of U.S. trials run by patient care organizations • mHealth Apps nearly double since 2015; 318,500 now available with roughly 200 new apps added daily to top app stores • Apps focused on health conditions and patient care; now 40% of all apps up from 27% in 2015
Carlsbad, CA (November 2, 2017) – An exclusive report produced by EBD Group and authored by Forbes contributor Nicole Fisher, covering trends in digital medicine policy, financing, privacy, and partnering, was released today. With perspectives from over seventeen thought leaders in the digital health space representing pharma, tech, regulatory agencies, and investors, this report, Digital Medicine 2.0, builds on the first edition, published in August 2016.
Download Digital Medicine 2.0: The future is in policymaking, paying and protecting here.
The report is presented with support from Demy-Colton, Digital Therapeutics Alliance, Evidation Health, Hogan Lovells, Rock Health and StartUp Health. Key themes include:
The impact of the digital medicine industry is reflected in the comments of contributing thought leaders from top companies and organizations in the field, including Aliki Interactive, Digital Therapeutics Alliance, Evidation Health, Hogan Lovells, Medidata, MDIC, Michael J. Fox Foundation, NostaLab, Omada Health, PULSE@MassChallenge, Qualcomm Life, Roche, Rock Health, Sanofi, Stanford University, StartUp Health, U.S. FDA, and Verily.
Asher Rubin, Global Head of the Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry Team at Hogan Lovells says, “There is more certainty now than there was a year ago about where things fall on the spectrum of tools and toys. We have a better sense of how patients use therapies, how providers use therapies, and how the ecosystem is getting connected.”
“A great digital health partnership depends on complementary skills and a shared goal—often, to find ways to improve patient care by understanding what it is really like to live with a disease,” asserts Heather Bell, Senior VP and Global Head of Digital and Analytics at Sanofi.
“Right now we’re in the fact-finding stage with digital health for Parkinson’s: what can we measure and how may that be useful in understanding and treating this disease,” says Deputy
CEO Sohini Chowdhury of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. “Parkinson’s is a very variable disease, which makes real-time monitoring with digital health tools attractive to researchers and patients.”
The convergence of digital technologies and healthcare opens up valuable opportunities for partnerships that will result in innovative solutions that improve patients’ lives. All stakeholders, from researchers, patients, payers and providers, as well as new entrants in this field, will need to adapt and adopt these new technologies to realize the promise of digital medicine.
Download the Digital Medicine 2.0 Whitepaper.
Harvard Business Review (Jessica L. Alpert & Erin E. Sullivan) — Diabetes is one of the most pervasive and expensive chronic diseases: It affects an estimated 30.3 million people in the United States and costs a staggering $245 billion per year to treat. In addition there are 84.1 million adults in the United States with high blood sugar levels in danger of developing type 2 diabetes. It is widely acknowledged that the most effective method of treating these prediabetics so they don’t become full-fledged diabetics is diabetes prevention programs (DPPs) that follow a protocol validated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the challenge has been to get people to enroll in them in the first place and stick with them if they do.
EBD Group — This newly released report, Digital Medicine 2.0, authored by Forbes contributor Nicole Fisher, covers trends in digital medicine policy, financing, privacy, and partnering with perspectives from over fifteen thought leaders in the digital health space.
Key themes in the 2017 report include: Further defining digital medicine; How partnerships are making the advancement of digital medicine possible; Investment trends and funding the future of medicine; The shifting regulatory environment and its impact; The need for data security and how we can achieve this
ARLINGTON, VA and BOSTON (October 25, 2017) – The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) and the newly formed Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) today announced a strategic partnership to further establish the field of digital therapeutics. This partnership will combine the infrastructure, reach and resources of PCHAlliance and the expertise, thought leadership, and focus of DTA.
Announced at the 9th annual Connected Health Conference in Boston during the Life Sciences and MedTech Roundtable, PCHAlliance has also launched a new Digital Therapeutics Task Force. The task force will draw on DTA’s subject matter expertise to focus on an initial set of high priority projects for both organizations. The task force will be open to PCHAlliance member companies, as well as allied associations and non-corporate thought leaders by invitation only. Pierre Leurent, CEO of Voluntis, a PCHAlliance member organization, and one of the founding members of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance, will serve as the task force chair.
“Digital therapeutics is an emerging trend, based on the idea that technology can improve an individual’s health as much as a drug can, as well as increase the efficacy of drug therapies. Digital therapeutics companies are proving, via rigorous clinical studies – and even regulatory approval – that connected health technologies can provide measurable clinical benefit, at least as good as some medication,” said Patty Mechael, PhD, MHS, Executive Vice President, PCHAlliance. “We are pleased to partner with the Digital Therapeutics Alliance to combine our resources to advance the field, galvanize key stakeholders, focus on developing standards of quality and work towards improving health outcomes through this newly developing sub-domain of personal connected health.”
A recent analyst report predicted that the digital therapeutics market will reach about $9 billion by 2025. The term “digital therapeutics” refers to digital technology or software to treat a medical condition, used alone and in combination with conventional drug therapies. Digital therapeutics include mobile apps, wearable sensors, health monitoring devices or software that can change an individual’s behavior in order to achieve positive clinical outcomes and, thereby better control the cost of care.
“Digital therapeutics companies are developing clinically validated tools that are improving value and lowering costs. These companies are harnessing the power of digital tools to improve disease management,” added Pierre Leurent. “The field is evolving, so there is a need for digital therapeutics companies to come together, to clearly delineate the market, define the benefits and secure regulatory, reimbursement, provider and policy support.”
About the Digital Therapeutics Alliance
The Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) represents the healthcare industry’s leading manufacturers of clinically validated digital therapeutic (DTx) solutions. DTA’s mission is to broaden the understanding, adoption, and integration of digital therapeutic solutions into mainstream healthcare through education, advocacy, and research. DTA members and partners – including patients, healthcare providers, payers, academic institutions, technology organizations, and pharmaceutical manufacturers – collaborate to enhance patient outcomes through assessing the value and impact of DTx solutions in clinical practice, constructing industry and regulatory frameworks, and encouraging data-driven integration and utilization of DTx solutions across the healthcare industry. For more information visit: www.dtxalliance.org
About the Personal Connected Health Alliance
The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) aims to make health and wellness an effortless part of daily life. The PCHAlliance, a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS, believes that health is personal and extends beyond healthcare. The Alliance mobilizes a coalition of stakeholders to realize the full potential of personal connected health. PCHAlliance members are a vibrant ecosystem of technology and life sciences industry icons and innovative, early stage companies along with governments, academic institutions, and associations from around the world. To support its vision, PCHAlliance convenes the global personal connected health community at the annual Connected Health Conference, the premier international event for the exchange of research, evidence, ideas, innovations and opportunities in personal connected health. The Alliance publishes and promotes adoption of the Continua Design Guidelines. Continua is recognized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the international standard for safe, secure, and reliable exchange of data to and from personal health devices. PCHAlliance accelerates technical, business, policy and social strategies necessary to advance personal connected health through its Healthy Longevity initiative to promote lifelong health and wellness.