Merck KGaA has signed a wide-ranging deal with US-Israeli company Medisafe to develop customised versions of its treatment adherence mobile app for use alongside Merck’s cardiometabolic drug products.
The collaboration will “help thousands of patients with chronic conditions to manage their medication intake and improve adherence to treatment”, according to the German pharma group, which says it intends to develop the apps initially for Brazil, Russia and Mexico. It is the first time the two companies have worked together and the initial project will cover drugs for type 2 diabetes, thyroid disorders and cardiovascular diseases.
The customised versions of Medisafe’s digital platform will provide “treatment reminders, motivation, support systems, targeted content, coupons and interventions in their local language”, say the two companies.
Merck has been actively looking into ways to provide ‘beyond the pill’ services to patients for some time, and the latest initiative comes shortly after it launched a behavioural modification pilot with Blue Mesa Health to provide remote health coaching, peer support and connected technology for chronic disease patients. And it’s no stranger to Medisafe’s technology, having invested in the company via its mobile health investment arm mVentures.
Steve Sturge, chief operating officer at Merck’s biopharma business, said that offering Medisafe’s platform to patients “has the potential to significantly improve medication adherence by giving patients and carers the tools to organise, understand and manage their medication”.
Medisafe’s medication management platform is already being used by more than four million registered users around the world and is being tested in a large-scale study to gauge its impact on adherence as well as other measures such as the accuracy of self-reported outcome data.
It is estimated that approximately 50% of patients do not adhere to long-term therapies, with the problem greater in developing countries, says Merck. In diabetes for example adherence rates vary between 36% and 93%.