Digital therapeutics gaining traction in the market
- DHV-NET
- Jun 10, 2022
- 1 min read
Digital health funding has grown exponentially over the last few years and fuelled significant investment. Payers, healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients recognise the positive impact these digital tools can have either standalone or in conjunction with therapeutic intervention. For instance, earlier last month Pfizer and Sidekick Health launched a new dermatitis app aimed at improving medication management of patients with skin diseases and Akili partnered with Robolox expanding children’s access to EndeavorRx, a novel ADHD digital therapy.
Greater harmonisation will increase market access
Changes in reimbursement and coverage in the US and Europe during the COVID 19 pandemic have accelerated the adoption of DTx and the Digital Therapeutic Alliance (DTA) recently published guidance to help DTx manufacturers navigate the complex pricing and reimbursement (P&R) environment.
“The guide is a conversation starter and provides some degree of harmonisation regarding scientific rigour, and data governance,” Megan Coder, chief policy officer at DTA, told pharmaphorum. “It shows how far the industry has come regarding patient centricity and usability and helps DTx manufacturers to engage in discussions with payers to enable the right patient access, at scale.”
Currently, each country has its own criteria for P&R assessment of DTx and reimbursement drivers vary across continents (Table 1). Pierre Leurent, founder and CEO of Voluntis and president of digital health at Aptar Pharma notes that “the [DTA] guidance is a valuable tool for engaging dialogue with payers about the reimbursement framework and for sharing methodologies that impact reimbursement criteria. It will help to ‘connect the dots’ between different stakeholders and facilitate the emergence of common frameworks.”