Pharma giant Pfizer is turning its attention to the digital therapeutics space and entering into a new strategic commercial partnership with Swedish startup Alex Therapeutics.
The collaborative effort will leverage Alex Therapeutics’ AI-based platform, which integrates both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and attachment therapy (ACT) with AI to personalize care. Initially, the pair will focus on developing digital therapeutics for the treatment of nicotine addiction and launch their efforts in the German market.
“In our efforts to give patients access to new, innovative forms of therapy, our goal is to fully exploit the possibilities of digitization. Alex Therapeutics is a promising company because of its approach of combining the latest psychological insights into dealing with harmful behavior with the possibilities of artificial intelligence.” saidAylin Tüzel, Country Manager for Pfizer Germany, explains the choice of cooperation partner in a statement.
WHY IT MATTERS
The World Health Organization reports that tobacco kills more than eight million people each year. Today, several digital health companies including Quit Genius, Carrot and CureApp SC have developed digital tools designed to help with smoking cessation.
Pfizer has also been working in the field of smoking cessation for a long time. It previously released a drug called Chantix aims to help patients quit smoking. However, in September, the company issued a voluntary nationwide recall of Chantix in the US due to levels of the nitrosamine N-nitroso-varenicline.
THE BIGGER TREND
Pfizer has been interested in the digital therapy room for some time. In June 2020, the company announced a partnership with Sidekick Health valued at approximately $8 million to launch digital therapy platform.
The company has also shown interest in including more digital elements in the research. Pfizer has previously partnered with the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) and other life science companies on a digital endpoint initiative focused on atopic dermatitis.
Many other big life science companies have been exploring the digital space. In May, Novartis teamed up with Medical AI company Ada Health on a new diagnosis for patients with immunological diseases and rare diseases. Novartis has also worked with digital therapeutics company Pear in the past, but the two parted ways in late 2019 as part of their high-profile collaboration on substance abuse recovery therapeutics reSET and reSET-O. Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) continues to work with the company on its schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis research.
Additionally, Sanofi has been working with the digital therapeutic Happify Health since 2019 to treat multiple sclerosis symptoms.
