Why Aren’t Digital Pills Taking Off?
In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broke ground by approving the first drug with an embedded biosensor to track its use. The enthusiasm for digital approaches involving sensors, apps, and wearables that could transmit information across systems, commonly grouped under the term Internet of Things, also spread.
Yet, despite the landmark FDA approval, digital pills have not exploded in pharma. Privacy and logistical concerns, especially while studying such applications for vulnerable populations, have lingered.
“At the end of the day, the patient has to be of a mindset that this medicine is helping,” says Eric Buffkin, CEO of UF startup and UF Innovate Accelerate client EtectRx, a digital health company. Without that, let alone digital therapy, even a traditional one will not succeed, he says.
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