PARIS – Aptargroup Inc. is negotiating to buy Voluntis SA in a move that would complement its existing digital solutions portfolio and expand services to address multiple conditions and chronic diseases. "By being part of Aptar, we will be able to pursue a common ambition aimed at providing a complete digital health platform combining connected devices and digital therapeutics," Pierre Leurent, CEO and co-founder of Voluntis, told BioWorld.
Digital therapeutics startup Akili Interactive Inc. has secured $160 million in a combined equity and debt financing to accelerate commercialization of its Endeavorrx platform for cognitive disorders. The company won FDA clearance and the CE mark in June 2020 for its video game-based treatment, Endeavorrx ALK-T01, for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Renovia Inc. closed a $17 million C-1 equity funding round led by new investor Parian Global Management. Perceptive Life Sciences, Longwood Fund, Ascension Ventures and OSF Ventures added to their existing investments in the company, which develops prescription digital therapeutics for female pelvic floor disorders.
Better Therapeutics Inc. has commenced a real-world evidence study with Steward Health Care to assess the long-term impact of its BT-001 digital therapeutic in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The investigational prescription solution delivers cognitive behavioral therapy to patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes.
Mahana Therapeutics Inc. obtained a CE mark for Parallel, a prescription digital therapeutic device to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in conjunction with other IBS treatments. Developed by a team of U.K. psychologists, the three-month program delivers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) via a web-based application.
Cognito Therapeutics Inc. has revealed that its lead product has received breakthrough device designation from the U.S. FDA for the treatment of cognitive and functional symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The offering is a noninvasive neurostimulation device using gamma frequency technology and is the initial candidate in the company’s pipeline of digital therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases and other chronic indications.
The digital therapeutics market has surged during the pandemic and looks likely to markedly change health care long after the current crisis abates. The need for distance, limited in-person appointments, increased stress and mental health issues, and a more relaxed U.S. FDA approach have created the ideal environment for the rollout of therapies patients can use from home on their own time. Increasingly, clinical trials demonstrate the effectiveness of the new options and users praise the convenience.
The rising tide of digital therapeutics approved and funded in the U.S. raised the outlook for Mahana Therapeutics Inc. and Freespira Inc. as both companies announced good news. Mahana's prescription digital therapeutic for gastrointestinal conditions, Parallel, received premarket authorization from the U.S. FDA and Freespira, formerly Palo Alto Health Sciences Inc., raised $10 million for its digital therapeutic for panic attacks, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
PARIS – Lucine Therapeutics SAS has raised $6.6 million to finance development of its first digital therapy aimed at relieving chronic pain. A 100% French initial funding round, six French funds have contributed to this seed fund.
Pear Therapeutics Inc. has seen its efforts in the prescription digital therapeutics (PDT) space come to fruition with two new deals reported this week. The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. now covers two of the company's therapeutics – Reset, for substance use disorder, and Reset-O, for opioid use disorder – for its employees and their beneficiaries. Preferredone will also cover the two PDTs for all its members.
