Pfizer and Alex Therapeutics Ink Partnership for Providing Digital Therapeutics to Patients, Starting in Germany

Alex Therapeutics, a Stockholm-based Digital Therapeutics (DTx) company, has partnered with Pfizer Germany to provide evidence-based, clinically validated, and personalized digital therapies to patients. The partnership will initially focus on Germany, one of the world’s largest unified healthcare markets. Together, the companies cover a broad range of expertise in the fields of medicine, marketing, clinical validation, AI, software development, and psychology. The partnership will initially focus on Germany, one of the world’s largest unified healthcare markets.

Digital Therapeutics (DTx) also known as Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) are evidence-based digital treatments. Alex Therapeutics designs and develops SaMDs which can also be described as “software intended to be used for one or more medical purposes that perform these purposes without being part of a hardware medical device.” 

Aim of the partnership

The partnership will utilize Alex Therapeutics’ AI-powered digital therapeutics platform “Alex DTx Platform”. The platform combines evidence-based psychology, primarily Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with AI, and provides personalized standalone treatments to address unmet needs among patients worldwide.

The initial focus of the partnership is a digital therapy treating nicotine addiction via smartphone. The medical device was developed by Alex Therapeutics and adapted to the requirements of the German healthcare system together with Pfizer Germany. Pfizer is currently conducting an extensive clinical trial in Germany to further validate the medical benefits of the solution.

“The collaboration with Pfizer enables us to combine our technology and expertise with one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and gives us unique access to an attractive healthcare market. Pfizer’s unique experience of the needs of patients and doctors provides us with the opportunity to put our technology into the hands of those that need it the most” said John Drakenberg Renander, CEO of Alex Therapeutics. 

Germany- a pioneer in Digital Therapeutics

A 2018 study for comparison of digital strategies examined to what extent 18 selected countries had digitised their healthcare delivery. The study ranked Germany in 17th place which may have acted as an overdue wake-up call for action leading to the enactment of a series of laws that advance the digitization of healthcare delivery in Germany. 

Since 2020, Germany’s Digital Healthcare Act (DVG) has ensured that any doctor or healthcare provider is able to prescribe Digital Health Applications (DiGA’s) or Digital Therapeutics (DTx) to any of the 72 million citizens insured through the statutory health care system.

Speaking about the Alex Therapeutics-Pfizer partnership, Per Thöresson, the Swedish Ambassador in Germany said “This is a great example of how innovative companies such as Alex Therapeutics in Sweden and Pfizer in Germany can come together in the fields of e-health and AI. Together, they will provide new solutions to the benefit of patients.”

Author

Arvind C. Shekhar