do digital therapeutics work?

I’ve noticed a significant increase in conversations about how to best evaluate the efficacy of digital therapeutics (e.g., do they actually “work”?).

Since some of my clients are struggling to keep track of all the published peer-reviewed validation studies, I’ve asked my team to compile a database of all the DTx studies they could find (both by academia and industry).

Here’s what we found, keeping in mind that it’s an ever-evolving database:

📊 1400+ studies, of which 51% evaluate industry-developed DTx

📊 8 therapeutic areas being studied including cardio, chronic pain, neurology, psychiatry/psychology, metabolic, urology, gastroenterology and endocrinology

📊 34 diseases are being studied for efficacy

📊 7 main treatment modalities were identified, including digital psychotherapy, VR/AR, gaming, health and lifestyle coaching, biofeedback and digital rehab

📊 Most studies were RCTs, about a third were single-arm observational and the rest consisted of case studies, pilots and quasi-experimental study designs

We’re putting the finishing touches on the list to ensure it’s fulsome and user friendly and I’d like to share it more broadly with my network when it's ready to help stimulate even more data-driven discussions.

If you’d like to have a quick walkthrough and receive access to the study database when available, leave a comment below (maybe give me a “Go DTx!”) or just send me a DM if you’re shy.

Here’s hoping that this bit of work will bring pharma one step closer to digitization!