Why did you decide to join the Digital Therapeutics Consortium, and what were the key factors that led you to this decision?
At Angelini Pharma, we are committed to improving the quality of life for people with unmet medical needs. In this regard, advancing digital therapies in Spain is deeply aligned with this vision. We firmly believe that digital therapies will be the future of health due to their potential to enhance personalized treatment and prevention. Spain can and should lead this advancement, following the examples of leaders like Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. Given the magnitude of the challenge, collaboration among innovative companies, such as the partners of the DTx Consortium, is vital to overcome obstacles and realize this shared vision. Together, we are laying the foundations for more effective, equitable, and patient-centered healthcare.
From the perspective of a promoting partner, what value do you gain by being part of the CDTx, and how has it benefited you so far?
As pioneers in joining the Digital Therapeutics Consortium (CDTx), we have found great value in participating. We believe that the challenges in the healthcare sector require collaborative and patient-centered solutions, surpassing the individual strategies of each company, and the Consortium is a concrete example of this. It has allowed us to exchange ideas with different leading stakeholders in the field, accelerating innovation and strengthening our focus on benefiting our patients. The CDTx has provided us with a platform to unite efforts and achieve an impact beyond what we could accomplish separately. In this sense, we believe it should set a precedent for how we approach innovation and the challenges of digitalization in health in a more united way among companies to achieve a greater impact.
Regarding digital therapies, what are the main challenges you face as a company?
The creation of a regulatory framework that ensures the safety and efficacy of digital therapies in Spain is essential. We need regulations that are flexible enough to adapt to innovations but rigorous enough to protect users. On the other hand, we believe that clinical evidence is key; being able to demonstrate the efficacy of digital therapies through robust clinical studies is fundamental, as confirmed by healthcare professionals. We are working systematically on both challenges alongside the other partners of the Consortium.
In which therapeutic areas are your digital therapies positioned? What prompted you to choose these areas?
At Angelini Pharma, we work to write the next chapter in Brain Health every day, as we know that psychiatric and neurological disorders will be the true challenge of the future. Specifically, we have a special focus on epilepsy, where we have recently launched an innovative treatment. It is estimated that in Spain alone, 400,000 people suffer from epilepsy, a chronic disease that affects more than 50 million people worldwide.
Moreover, over 70% of the digital therapies approved to date focus on neurology and psychiatry, as it is in the field of Brain Health where digital therapies can have one of the greatest impacts.
What opportunities and challenges do you foresee in the field of digital therapies for the coming years? How do you see their future in your therapeutic areas?
Digital therapies offer great opportunities in healthcare, especially in Brain Health, as mentioned earlier, but they are not without challenges. I would highlight two in particular. First, regulation in Spain. Our country requires a more defined regulatory framework for digital therapies, thus ensuring safety and clarity for everyone. We have Digital Health start-ups born in Spain that must go to the United States to bring their value proposition to market. The DTx Consortium is working on this issue.
Second, I would highlight the change in mindset and openness to change. The example of Germany is revealing. With more than 45 reimbursed digital therapies, it is a testament to the potential of these tools. However, we recently had the opportunity to participate as speakers at a conference on digital therapies in Germany. The exchange with industry colleagues showed us a growing demand from patients for these types of solutions. On the other hand, some healthcare professionals still show resistance to prescribing these therapies, possibly due to lack of training or not having been sufficiently involved in the process. We believe that involving healthcare professionals in the creation of these solutions is fundamental for digital therapies to make sense and be widely adopted. It is critical to engage healthcare professionals in the creation of these solutions to respond to real needs and to adopt them quickly.
What initiatives are you undertaking to promote the development and adoption of digital therapies?
The future of digital therapies in our therapeutic areas is promising. However, collaboration among regulators, healthcare professionals, patients, and developers is essential for their success and widespread adoption. That is why at Angelini Pharma, through the consortium, we seek forums where these collaborations can be generated in a real and tangible way, having authentic conversations about the unmet needs to be addressed and how we can pragmatically contribute to them.
If possible, could you share any specific digital therapy you are currently working on or have launched on the market? What features and benefits would you highlight?
We are constantly exploring solutions in the field of Brain Health, especially in Epilepsy, to identify beyond-the-pill solutions that address the unmet needs of our patients and can help them both during treatment and in prevention, thus improving their quality of life.
What do you consider to be the main barriers to the widespread adoption of digital therapies? What measures are you taking to overcome them?
The main barriers to the widespread adoption of digital therapies, from our perspective, include the current healthcare system, which does not help, along with the lack of time for healthcare professionals. Due to their workloads, healthcare professionals have little time to train and engage in the adoption of these new tools. Resources are primarily focused on solving immediate and urgent problems, leaving the implementation of innovations such as digital therapies in the background.
Lastly, we would appreciate it if you could draft a brief inspirational quote that summarizes your vision on the potential of DTx.
«The future of digital therapies is so promising that it is essential to unite efforts to achieve an impact beyond what we could accomplish separately. Collaboration among regulators, healthcare professionals, patients, and developers is key to unlocking the best of digital innovation and health to improve the quality of life for patients.»
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