This post has been updated from an earlier version
Propeller Health added a second big pharma partner with its GlaxoSmithKline research and development deal to produce sensors for the company’s Ellipta dry powder inhaler, according to a company statement.
It comes four months after Propeller began a partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim.
It is the latest in a series of pharma and digital health collaborations that have the potential to not only improve monitoring between routine checkups, but also transform clinical trials by making them more economical to carry out on a large scale.
Dave Allen, GSK Senior Vice President of Respiratory R&D said in the statement: “We continue to find new and better ways to conduct clinical trials by exploring novel patient centered outcomes through strategic collaborations. Using innovative sensor technology to improve the quality of adherence data collected during our studies will advance our understanding of disease and inform our decision-making in the development of new medicines.”
The sensor will collect and record data on the inhaler’s usage automatically, such as the date and time of each use. It will also transmit the information to a central data repository for analysis by GSK’s clinical researchers. The sensors will help researchers generate insights on adherence patterns for different patients.
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.
GSK will retain the option to negotiate exclusive commercialization rights to the sensor as part of its respiratory medicines that use the Ellipta inhaler.
Here are a few more pharma and digital health collaborations:
Proteus Digital Health and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals submitted the first digital medicine New Drug Application in September. A sensor embedded in Otsuka’s Abilify drug for schizophrenia, bipolar and major depressive disorder works in tandem with a patch worn on the skin. It sends signals to the patch, which wirelessly transmits information such as vital signs, body position and verification of medication ingestion. If approved, the combination drug-device could be used to tailor medicines more closely to reflect medication-taking patterns and lifestyle choices. The collaboration has the potential to have a huge influence on drug development and remote monitoring not only for neurological disorders but for a wide variety of applications.
Validic and Quintiles are another couple of companies compelled to collaborate to improve clinical trial efficiencies. Although it is not a pharmaceutical company, as a global CRO Quintiles manages clinical trials for quite a few pharma companies. Validic developed a way to de-silo data from medical devices so patients can be easily monitored remotely. Although it was only announced last month, this collaboration could help shorten the recruitment process, which can take as long as one year. Clinical trial participants will be able to submit their vital signs through a mobile device to clinicians. It will trim costs from trials by negating the need to conduct in-person evaluations. Remote monitoring will also help researchers identify potential drug side effects more quickly, shortening trial lengths.
Qualcomm Life and Novartis In January Qualcomm and Novartis kicked off a partnership to support Novartis’ Trials of the Future program. Part of the initiative calls for using digital health tools to improve the clinical trial participant experience. Novartis is working with Qualcomm Life’s 2net Platform, 2net Hub and 2net Mobile technologies with certain medical devices to automate data from patient’s homes during clinical trials. The Trials of the Future is only one part of Novartis’ collaboration with Qualcomm. It is also one of the pharma investors in a fund targeting digital health technologies called dRx Capital.
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