At the HLTH conference last week, MedCity News’ editorial team interviewed 11 health leaders from a variety of organizations to get a sense of which areas within healthcare will see consolidation over the next 12 months.

Digital therapeutics will be one of the topics discussed at INVEST Digital Health scheduled for October 26 at Health Wildcatters headquarters in Pegasus Park in Dallas. Register today!

Digital therapeutics developer Click Therapeutics is partnering with Indivior to develop a mobile app for substance use disorder. Indivior is now Click’s third development partner, following deals with Boehringer Ingelheim and Otsuka Pharmaceutical.

Pear Therapeutics was once regarded as a digital therapeutics pioneer, but its spiral into bankruptcy has the industry searching for the best path forward. While some favor going direct to consumers, others say the solution is in generating more robust clinical trial data to persuade hesitant payers.

One of the fastest-growing frontiers of healthcare is Digital Therapeutics (DTx), which utilizes clinically tested […]

The challenge of introducing a novel therapy is nothing new. It has been done again and again, but always from a foundation of compelling evidence…gathered through a rigorous scientific approach that demonstrates quality, safety, efficacy, and a favorable balance of benefits and risks.

Paris-based Sofinnova Partners announced last week that it has launched a new strategy aimed at investing in a new breed of startups that straddle the lines between data and biology.

CMS recently established a unique code for AppliedVR’s flagship product, marking the first time a digital therapeutic or immersive therapeutic has ever been placed in an existing benefit category. The eight-week program is a physician-prescribed solution that allows patients to manage their chronic lower back pain without opioids from the comfort of their own home.

Pear Therapeutics isn’t meeting the commercialization goals for its prescription digital therapeutics, so it’s now seeking strategic alternatives for the business. Prospective buyers can pick up Pear’s FDA-cleared products for substance use disorder, opioid use disorder, and insomnia.

As regulatory processes and reimbursements are refined, there needs to be a continued focus on how to maximize the benefits for patients and ensure DTx can play a role in improving outcomes. The key to this is integration into the clinical workflow.

Earlier this year, CMS implemented a new Level II Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code for “prescription digital behavioral therapy,” which makes it easier for commercial and Medicaid plans to cover these therapies. Additionally

Ultimately, it is anticipated that CMS will further expand the use of reimbursable RTM beyond respiratory and MSK care and incorporate patient-reported information as a requirement for reimbursement of certain remote services.

Through apps, pharmaceutical companies can actually influence patient adherence and mindset after that patient has been prescribed that company’s medication by their physician.

By placing the power to detect atrial fibrillation into the hands of 6 billion global smartphone users, validation of further physiological parameters will be expedited and the subsequent adoption of this technology into DTx will enable the low-cost tools required to remove barriers to care and improve heart health across the globe.

A panel discussion on the future of digital medicine highlighted some of the collaborations taking place between pharma companies and digital health, as well as some of the challenges facing the push towards mainstream implementation.

Operational efficiency and visibility brought on by digital transformation can help improve how pharmaceutical manufacturers do their critical part in improving equitable access and availability of medicine around the world.

A webinar sponsored by Twilio will share predictions for driving personalized care and engagement in healthcare and life sciences in 2022.

The Series D round of funding makes Biofourmis a unicorn valued at $1.3 billion. CEO and founder Kuldeep Singh Rajput said that the new capital will be used to expand his company’s remote-monitoring technologies and continue development of digital therapeutics, both as companions to traditional drugs and as monotherapies.

In the U.S., EndeavorRx has been cleared to help in improving attention function as measured by computer-based testing in children ages 8-12 years who have primarily inattentive or combined-type ADHD who struggle with maintaining attention.

The company got a breakthrough device designation for its app-based program for alcohol use disorder, reset-A. Pear currently has FDA-cleared digital therapeutics to address opioid use and substance use disorders.

Click Therapeutics is developing digital therapeutics for depression, insomnia and other conditions. It plans to use the funds to commercialize its therapeutics, through partnerships with pharmaceutical companies including Otsuka.

VCs at MedCity INVEST Digital Health said there’s no shortage of interesting digital health companies, even ones that can prove their innovations are effective. The challenge is winning over insurers and physicians, and finding payment models that work. 

Luminopia, a startup with a digital therapeutic for amblyopia, or lazy eye, recently published the results of a phase 3 study showing its TV-based treatment can improve vision in kids’ non-dominant eye. Patients don a headset where images are altered to make them use both eyes. 

Neuroglee recently raised $10 million in funding and struck a partnership with Mayo Clinic. It’s building a digital therapeutic and virtual programs for people with mild cognitive impairment. 

The company recently finished a study showing patients in the U.K. who used both Sleepio’s app and therapy saw improvements in anxiety and depression compared to people who used therapy alone. But the study also had several limitations. 

The startup is working with Curebase to launch five clinical trials to test its VR-based therapeutic for chronic pain. They plan to enroll a total of more than 2,000 people.

The company is licensing out technology from Australian digital health company TALi Digital to improve attention in early childhood. Akili will pay $37.5 million, including milestone payments and royalties. 

Consumers and benefits managers have a record number of digital health tools to choose from, according to a new report by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science. 

Freespira CEO Dean Sawyer said its FDA cleared digital therapeutic is the first that’s proven to significantly reduce or eliminate symptoms of panic attacks, panic disorder, and PTSD, in a single, 28-day treatment episode.

DTx helps reduce mental health stigma that is a barrier for underrepresented populations to receiving mental health care and if developed with intention and within a culturally-responsive framework, DTx won’t judge or discriminate.