Four months after Adherium secured FDA clearance for an inhaler sensor called SmartTouch for use with AstraZeneca’s Symbicort aerosol inhaler for patients with COPD and asthma, the company has opened up offices in San Mateo to pave the way for its expansion in the U.S. market. MobiHealthNews first reported that the company is making a direct-to-consumer push in the U.S.
It’s a gutsy move considering most connected healthcare companies in the U.S. have adopted a business-to-business model or business-to-business-to-consumer model because of a perceived lack of interest by Americans in dipping into their own pockets to pay for healthcare beyond medical appointments.
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In an interview, CEO Arik Anderson told MobiHealthNews that SmartTouch is keen to work with insurance companies and with pharmacies to get its adherence solutions into the hands of patients where it will dramatically improve their lives.
“As we look at the asthma population or the asthma and COPD population, we recognize that there are key segments of that population that are great candidates for direct to consumer,” Anderson said. “Specifically in the pediatric population, kids between the ages of about 5 and 17 whose parents remember last Saturday when their son or daughter was having an asthma attack, couldn’t breathe, and they put them in the car at 10 p.m. and drove them to the emergency room where they got a breathing treatment. They finally got relief, but it was horrible for the whole family.”
The company, which is based in Melbourne, Australia, dates back to 2001. Its initial focus was developing technology for respiratory patients and validating it. Previous regulatory approvals have been for devices geared for patients and physicians.
SmartTouch has also been adding staff to its U.S. offices in the past year. In June Arik Anderson joined as CEO. He previously served as President of Perfusion and Surgical Devices at Terumo Cardiovascular Systems where he managed a $300 million portfolio. Tim Marcotte also joined the business as CFO and Vik Panda joined in October as the vice president of marketing.
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The business records the date and time the inhaler is used and automatically transmits this information to an app on the patient’s phone or tablet, according to a news release.
Several pharma and medtech companies have collaborated with digital health businesses to add value to their drugs and devices and to quantify the effectiveness of their products with patient data. Propeller Health inked deals with pharma companies like Novartis, medtech manufacturer MIR, and Express Scripts.
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