Patients can connect the electronic autoinjector to the app via Bluetooth and then that injection data can be shared with a physician or nurse.
Bayer plans to launch an FDA-approved mobile app in July for patients with multiple sclerosis who use its Betaconnect autoinjector to administer its immunosuppressive drug Betaseron.
The drugmaker received FDA approval in May to market the mobile app and its cloud-based platform Betaconnect Navigator, which was developed by Denmark-based Medicom Innovator Partner.
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Patients can connect the electronic autoinjector to the app via Bluetooth and then that injection data can be shared with a physician or nurse. The healthcare professional can view the data through the Betaconnect Navigator platform to see data about their patient’s injection history.
It’s the first time the drugmaker received FDA-approval for an all-inclusive offering like this, which now includes a drug, an autoinjector, an app, and a cloud-based platform, said Mark Rametta, medical director of neurology at Bayer. Betaseron first received FDA approval in 1993. In 2015, Bayer received FDA approval for the Betaconnect autoinjector, allowing patients to customize the speed and depth of the injection, which is used to reduce flare-ups of MS.
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“The main goal is to enhance the overall treatment experience of the patient [and] open this dialogue between the physician, nurse, and patient,” he added.
Betaseron is an injected therapy. An increasing number of new MS drugs are oral treatments, and some experts believe that oral forms of therapy can help patients stay adherent to their treatment regimen.
Bayer reported $940 million in sales of Betaseron in 2016, down from $1.05 billion in 2015.
