Digital therapeutics – tackling the untackled

Digital health is one of the most promising avenues for improving healthcare provision at a global scale. Digital therapeutics (DTx) in particular have gained significant traction, especially for conditions that remain poorly addressed by big pharma, including chronic disease and mental health issues. Realising the full potential of digital therapeutics will depend on the ability to advance digital products in the highly regulated pipeline of drug development and commercialisation. 

With the boom in connected devices and the advent of 5G, digital therapeutics have become one of the most promising avenues for lowering the cost of healthcare. What's more, they could close the gap within and among countries when it comes to access to care. Our experience working with the industry has highlighted five topics to consider to be successful in the digital therapeutics space. 

1. Develop human-centric and engaging experiences

The digital ecosystem in which we live is cluttered with apps, half of which have no good reason to exist beyond the fact that every company must have a digital presence. The ability to deliver engaging experiences is a key differentiator in the connected world. Think angry birds and candy crush. Beyond the joke, the gaming industry has much to offer when it comes to creating sticky experiences, especially for pharma, which is more focused on facts and figures than on emotions and journeys.

2. Deliver outcomes that matter to patients

Empowered patients have become more vocal when it comes to their needs. While they overwhelmingly look up to healthcare professionals when it comes to navigating the intricacies of clinical outcomes, they have a clear opinion when it comes to non-clinical matters, including the impact of therapies on their surroundings, way of life or state of mind. Digital therapeutics make it possible to rapidly explore and test these early on in order to focus on what truly matters to patients.

3. Build a body of evidence to support regulatory approval  

One of the main challenges in the digital era is the concept of value. With many of the offerings provided free of charge, consumers have become increasingly hesitant to open their wallets. The strict regulatory landscape of the pharmaceutical industry provides two main differentiators when it comes to digital. First, it acts as a high barrier to entry. Second, it provides a shield for innovation. In summary, while the route to approval may be long and costly, it is a proven way to protect your IP, demonstrate value to the market and negotiate interesting access strategies.

4. Engage internally as well as with non-traditional partners

Digital isn’t pharma’s core offering – and arguably never will be. It thus comes as no surprise that many companies experience a challenging and bumpy journey, mainly because the supporting business cases are wobbly at best. This is reminiscent of the value propositions of many e-commerce business prior to the dot-com bubble. The way out? Clearly outline both the clinical improvements as well as your reward mechanisms. Oftentimes, an ideal fit will require partnerships with startups and non-traditional players, as evidenced by Sanofi’s deal with Happify. Demonstrating humility by recognising the need for partnerships will avoid death by a thousand pilots.

5. Explore beyond your priority therapeutic areas

One of the biggest benefits of digital therapeutics is the flexibility they provide to explore non-core indications. Managing digital therapeutics as standalone offerings rather than beyond-the-pill or companion diagnostics will require a fundamental shift in mindset – and strong leadership and vision. But it also significantly lowers the cost to enter high-risk/high-reward areas of the market that have been historically poorly addressed, including chronic disease and mental health.

Digital therapeutics carry a heavy weight – the weight of hope for millions of people across the globe that have disengaged with the healthcare system. While the chances of them driving the current pharma industry forward remain low, they have the potential to create an entirely new industry, with companies specialising in digital offerings. If anything, history has shown that many companies have been disrupted by 'thinking at the margins', arguing that profit-diluting offerings are sub-par. With an unmatched understanding of disease and the strict regulatory landscape, pharma companies are in a unique position to tackle the untackled. The question is: will they?