Just three weeks ago, news appeared that, although it went unnoticed in the media, could represent a true revolution in medical care. It is the first digital pill approv by the FDA the Unit States Food and Drug Administration agency.
What is the digital pill?
The medication in question is Abilify MyCite, an aripiprazole drug, which is us to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and as an adjunct to augment antidepressants in adults.
Abilify MyCite is consider the first digital pill to include a digital ingestion tracking system.
According to the American Medical Association
Abilify MyCite has a sensor built into each pill that records when the medication is taken. Send that data to a portable patch. The patch, in turn, transmits it to phone leads the patient’s Smartphone, which publishes it on a web portal. Patients can allow their doctors or caregivers to access that information online.
In the press release announcing the approval, Mitchell Mathis, director of the Division of Psychiatric Products at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, stated that Being able to track the ingestion of prescription medications for mental illness can be useful for some patients. The FDA supports the development and use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committ to working with companies to understand how the technology could benefit patients and prescribers.
The future of digital medicine
The drug has been develop by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Proteus Digital Health. This technology could improve patients’ adherence to their medication.
most patients who do not adhere to their drug treatments do so intentionally, rather than because they forget. The association cites fear of possible side effects, cost. Misunderstanding of the need to take the medication, lack of symptoms, and concern about being dependent on medications as the main causes.
Otsuka is not the only pharmaceutical company that is experimenting with this type of technology. Another company call AdhereTech, for example, has develop a smart pill bottle that detects when Book Your List it is open and can send automatic alerts via text message or contact the healthcare team treating a patient when a dose is miss.
