More digital therapeutics hit the market, pharma uses digital for real-world data in 2021

In fact, in 2021 we’ve seen more digital therapeutics emerge onto the market, while pharma companies and startups work together on collecting real-world data, and investments continue in decentralized clinical trials. In early 2021, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and digital therapeutics company Click Therapeutics announced a new remote clinical trial being conducted on Verily’s Project Baseline platform. Additionally, life science company Eli Lilly announced that it is teaming up with diabetes management company Welldoc on a new licensing and collaboration agreement that promises to integrate the Welldoc’s software into the pharma company’s insulin products, which are still in the pipeline. Over the summer, Happify Health announced the launch of its first prescription digital therapeutic (PDTx), named Ensemble, which is focused on Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. One of the best-known DTx companies, Pear Therapeutics, made headlines this year when it announced a $1.6 billion SPAC deal. Later in the year, the company announced the acquisition of fellow digital-therapeutic company Waypoint Health Innovations’ assets, as well as the assets of Örebro University researcher Fredrik Holländare. In April, Kaiku Health, maker of an oncology-focused platform that collects patient-reported outcomes, announced that it was joining forces with Novartis on a new effort to help monitor and manage melanoma. The company announced that it is teaming up with AstraZeneca and the University of Florida on new artificial intelligence research projects aimed at boosting drug discovery and patient care. Meanwhile, digital clinical trial platform Medable scored a whopping $305 million in Series D funding in October.