Magellan Health, Inc. has long been the national leader in the use of digital innovation to help those struggling with various medical and behavioral conditions, including Substance Use Disorders (SUD). As a pioneer in the use of digital therapeutics and computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT), Magellan has engaged in a new initiative designed to measure clinical outcomes in patients with SUD by leveraging reSET®, the first ever FDA cleared prescription digital therapeutic from PEAR Therapeutics.
WellDoc®, a leading digital health company, announced today that its clinically proven hemoglobin A1C reductions for users of its BlueStar® digital therapeutic with type 2 diabetes can translate into significant healthcare cost savings.
STAT News (Stephanie Tilenius) — The next blockbuster therapy is probably already in your pocket or purse.
The FDA recently approved the first prescription digital therapy, Pear’s Reset app and program, which is focused on substance abuse. Others are likely to follow. That means your next trip to the doctor could include a prescription for a mobile app in addition to, or instead of, medicine.
Digital therapy represents a powerful yet provocative new idea in health care. Software brings a precision to therapy and with it an ability to personalize treatment. This gives digital therapy a big role to play as we transition to value-based care.
HuffPost UK (Martin Blinder) — As the digital health sector continues to evolve, a new category of tools and digital services called ‘Digital Therapeutics’ has emerged, and it has the power to revolutionise how people prevent and manage non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and relieve the burden on public health systems across the world.
Company completes large multi-center, randomized, controlled study of novel digital medicine and plans regulatory filing. Akili Interactive, an affiliate of PureTech Health, today announced top-line results from the Company’s STARS-ADHD pivotal study of its lead investigational digital medicine, AKL-T01, in pediatric attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In a randomized, controlled trial of 348 children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD, AKL-T01 showed a statistically significant improvement compared to an active control (p=0.006) on the predefined primary endpoint, a change in the Attention Performance Index (API), a composite score from the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.®).
Fast Company (Steven Melendez) — While some have expressed concerns about patient privacy, proponents say new pills that track when you take them could be just the beginning for edible technology.
A “digital pill” approved by the Food and Drug Administration could be the start of a new wave of ingestible technology.
The recently approved medication is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s Abilify–used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression–with a safe-for-consumption electronic sensor inside the pill. When someone takes the pill and it reaches the stomach, the sensor sends an electrical signal through the body to a wearable, bandage-like patch. That patch then sends a wireless message to an app on the patient’s phone, recording that the dose was taken.
Voluntis announced that it will be integrating Insulia® into Onduo’s virtual diabetes clinic. Onduo, a new diabetes management company created by Verily (an Alphabet Company) and Sanofi, is developing a virtual platform that integrates hardware, such as wirelessly-connected continuous glucose monitors, software, and personalized support from healthcare experts to help people manage their Type 2 diabetes. Insulia is a digital companion that provides insulin titration recommendations for people with Type 2 diabetes.
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.”
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.