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Pear Therapeutics raises $20M for digital therapeutics portfolio aimed at substance abuse, schizophrenia

Pear Therapeutics received equity finance backing from a group of investors with 5AM Ventures, Arboretum Ventures, and JAZZ Venture Partners leading the round.

Pear TherapeuticsA therapeutics company that pairs a digital health component with therapeutics for substance abuse and schizophrenia has closed a $20 million Series A round, according to a company statement. The funding will be used to support the launch of its digital therapies portfolio it refers to as eFormulations.

Pear Therapeutics received equity finance backing from a group of investors with 5AM Ventures, Arboretum Ventures, and JAZZ Venture Partners leading the round. Bridge Builders Collaborative and some other investors also took part.

It plans to submit digital therapeutic reSET to treat Substance Abuse Disorder to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2016. reSET and reSET-O, are a patient-facing smartphone application and a clinician-facing web interface. The app and interface were tested in six randomized clinical studies involving 1500 patients, according to a company statement.

In a pivotal randomized trial, 399 patients seeking treatment for SUD related to cocaine, alcohol, cannabis, and stimulants across 10 treatment centers received either face-to-face therapy or reSET instead of therapist time. It claims that patients who received reSET instead of therapist time showed higher rates of abstinence and higher rates of retention in treatment than patients receiving face-to-face therapy alone.

reSET-O combines the reSET modules with pharmacotherapy to combat opiate dependence. In three separate randomized clinical trials of more than 465 patients, the company claimed its reSET-O product enhanced abstinence, retention in treatment, and reduced required clinician intervention time for people with opiate dependence.

It is currently conducting multiple, large scale clinical trials to apply its dual treatment approach to patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder.

Pear Therapeutics approach to linking digital health and medication is part of a wider trend. Proteus Digital Health with Otsuka Pharmaceuticals submitted an NDA to use a swallowable sensor and wearable with Otsuka’s treatment Abilify to improve medication adherence for patients with schizophrenia. It also shows the effects of the medication on individuals so physicians can determine if dosages need to be modified for better outcomes. Proteus’ approach was adopted by Barton Health system initially for patients on drugs for hypertension.

Other companies have focused more on developing different approaches to medication adherence such as Ai Cure and Medisafe and AdhereTech.

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