Digital Therapies: The “Digital Pills” of current generation

As per United Nation’s report, the current global population stands at around 8 billion and expected to reach 9 billion by the end of 2030. This increase in population is accompanied with a rise in the incidence of several chronic disease indications. In fact, as per a report published by National Association of Chronic Disease Director, by 2030 this increase of the chronic condition would cost the US economy about USD 2 trillion. Furthermore, the lack of medical awareness and vulnerability in the medical infrastructure is believed to make the things more complicated in the coming future. Therefore, in order to cater this need, a number of stakeholders have come up with the innovative solution of digitizing the healthcare industry with next generation tools, such as artificial intelligence, digital therapies, telemedicine, electronic health records and others. It is worth noting that these next generation techniques have demonstrated significant potential to improve the quality of lives of individuals suffering from chronic conditions.

What is Digital Therapeutic?

Digital Therapeutics is one of the many new initiatives undertaken by the stakeholders to cater the growing need. As per Digital Therapeutics Alliance, digital therapeutics is a software-based intervention to patients to treat, manage or prevent a disease or disorder. These therapeutics are designed to engage patients in personalized treatment or disease prevention programs, through mediating behavioral or psychological modifications, providing motivational support and inculcating healthy lifestyle changes. Moreover, in order to be at par with the conventional medicines, several organizations have taken the initiative of validating their product in clinical trials for its safety and efficacy. In fact, the term “digital pills” has been coined due to its ability to compete against the conventional medicines/drugs.

Furthermore, several organizations have undertaken key diverse initiatives in the field of digital therapies to support its growth as a new frontier in the healthcare sector. For instance, several organizations are focused on the development of prescription digital therapeutic solutions, wherein the product is prescribed by healthcare professionals or clinicians after confirmation of the eligibility of patients for using such solutions. In addition, to make digital therapeutics more engaging, these are currently being offered in a combination of software applications and others such as gaming solution, personal coach, and AI support.

It is worth mentioning that the ease of use, personalized experience, accessibility, and convenience coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has popularized the digital therapeutics among the general population. In fact, countries, such as United States, Germany, UK, and others now have come up with their own laws to regulate the digital therapeutics among its population. For instance, in United States, the USFDA has implemented “Breakthrough Device Designation Program” for regularizing digital therapies as a medical intervention / solution for various indication. Likewise, UK have NHS based digital therapeutics database, wherein clinicians can refer for prescribing products and Germany has “Digital Health Act-2019”, for regularization of digital therapeutics.

Bottom-Line

Amidst growing competition, the availability of cutting-edge tools and technologies have emerged as a differentiating factor. This has caused many big pharma companies to actively expand their service portfolios, either through strategic acquisitions or entering into alliances with other digital therapeutic developers. Recent examples include AstraZeneca’s collaboration with digital therapeutics developer my mhealth, wherein both the companies integrated their proprietary products for better outcome. You can also check out our report on digital therapies by visiting ‘digital health market‘ section