HealthPrize Technologies has inked a deal with West Pharmaceuticals that will expand the company’s medication adherence meets gaming technology to injectable drugs that are self-administered, according to a company statement. The injectable devices will use Bluetooth low energy wireless capability to convey to HealthPrize when someone has taken their latest dosage. It’s the first deal of its kind for HealthPrize and offers a way for it to reach several pharmaceutical companies through a drug delivery manufacturer.
The statement explained how the collaboration will work:
In addition to installing tracking devices for the injectables, HealthPrize and West Pharmaceuticals are also implementing additional data transfer technologies such as smart labels, RFID/NFC and QR-code scanning. West intends to develop system technology that will allow both West drug delivery systems as well as existing drug delivery devices of other manufacturers to interface with the HealthPrize software.
West Pharmaceuticals makes several injectable devices such as a wearable injector, called SmartDose, and ConfiDose autoinjector, which uses a fixed needle, pre-filled syringe.
The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. In an interview with Dr. Katrina Firlik, the chief medical officer and co-founder, she said “It’s very exciting.” She also estimates that the technology would be integrated with providers sometime in late 2015.
Firlik said it makes sense to tackle the injectable medication market because the process involves overcoming a psychological hurdle. “It’s even more important to motivate and reward people for this.”
Along with insulin for Type 2 Diabetes, the platform can also be used for biologics taken for Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy and growth hormone.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Patients enrolled in HealthPrize have been shown to have nearly 50 percent higher adherence rates than than baseline, on average, according to the company statement.
