MedSci Joins Digital Therapeutics Alliance, Pioneering China's DTx Market

In recent years, internet healthcare has developed rapidly. Against this backdrop, an increasing number of digital technologies are being deeply integrated into disease diagnosis and treatment pathways, empowering physicians and serving patients through innovative models. This approach enables both doctors and patients to achieve greater treatment efficiency and better clinical outcomes throughout the entire course of specific diseases.Digital therapeutics products integrate advanced technological best practices related to design, clinical validation, usability, and data security.

Recently, the term “digital therapeutics” has frequently appeared in various healthcare industry conferences and reports. The concept of “digital therapeutics” was first proposed in 2015. According to the official definition by the Digital Therapeutics Alliance,Digital therapeutics are evidence-based, software-driven interventions provided to patients for the prevention, management, or treatment of diseases.It can be used independently or in conjunction with medications, devices, or other therapies to optimize patient care and health outcomes. In recent years, digital therapeutics (DTx) have garnered significant attention, with numerous companies vying to establish a presence in the field; 2020 is regarded as the inaugural year of digital therapeutics. The Digital Therapeutics White Paper by THE EVIDENCE FORUM predicts that the DTx market will grow tenfold over the next three to five years, reaching $9 billion (approximately RMB 50 billion) by 2025.

Digital therapeutics provide patients, healthcare providers, and payers with intelligent and accessible tools to improve outcomes for various diseases through high-quality, safe, and effective data-driven interventions.It can not only be used for chronic disease management but also holds promise for enhancing the level of personalized precision medicine across various therapeutic areas. Meanwhile, as an optimization and supplement to traditional treatment modalities, digital therapeutics will generate significant value for patients, healthcare providers, payers, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

VCBeat: “White Paper on China’s Digital Therapeutics Industry,” VCBeat Research Institute

Since 2020,Multiple medical regulatory agencies worldwide are actively engaging in the regulatory practice of digital therapeutics, preparing to incorporate them into regulatory decision-making and reimbursement systems. The U.S. FDA has established a relatively clear pathway for the review of digital therapeutics,The introduction of the FDA’s Pre-Certification Program for Digital Therapeutics Software has significantly streamlined the review process for digital therapeutic products. As early as September 2017, the FDA approved ReSET, the world’s first prescription digital therapeutic developed by Pear Therapeutics. To date, more than 20 digital therapeutic products have received FDA clearance. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, digital therapeutics have experienced robust growth. Chinese regulatory authorities have also begun to adopt a more open stance toward digital therapeutics. In November 2020, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved two digital therapeutic products for market launch as Class II medical devices, marking the inception of China’s digital therapeutics industry.

MedSci has been deeply engaged in the internet healthcare industry for many years, boasting a strong research foundation in the medical field and extensive experience in digitalization, with notable progress achieved in digital therapeutics.MedSci is committed to building a universal digital therapeutic product development platform, establishing multiple R&D pipelines for digital therapeutics, and forming a systematic pathway for the development of digital therapeutic products, thereby comprehensively strengthening the foundation for their research and development. MedSci has completed the development of "Sheep Sleep," a digital therapeutic for insomnia, secured multiple intellectual property rights, filed numerous invention patent applications, and currently entered the clinical trial phase. Moving forward, MedSci will leverage the unique characteristics of digital therapeutics and align with national conditions to expand R&D efforts into additional disease areas.

Additionally, in terms of patient management and communication,MedSci has launched a digital patient management system, Yika, which leverages artificial intelligence to digitize pre-consultation, post-consultation, and post-discharge follow-up data into standardized, structured records. This provides comprehensive digital support for whole-course patient management and integrates seamlessly with digital therapeutic regimens to better achieve personalized precision medicine.

July 15,MedSci Officially Joins the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA). The International Digital Therapeutics Alliance, established in 2017 and composed of industry leaders dedicated to advancing the development of digital therapeutics, is a globally authoritative organization in thought leadership and education for digital therapeutics.

Screenshot of the International Digital Therapeutics Alliance’s Official Website Featuring MedSci

Worldwide, there is growing recognition of digital therapeutics as a novel therapeutic category capable of improving patient health. Globally, numerous pharmaceutical companies—including Roche, Bayer, Merck, and Novartis—have entered and strategically positioned themselves in the digital therapeutics sector. In China, although digital therapeutics is still in its early stages, the field has already attracted significant attention.MedSci, alongside several other Chinese enterprises, has become one of the first domestic companies to receive certification from the International Digital Therapeutics Alliance.

Dr. Zhang Fabao, Chairman of MedSci, stated that,Since its inception, MedSci has remained committed to its corporate mission of improving healthcare quality, leveraging medicine as its foundation and digitalization as its tool to empower the ecological development of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.The company’s mission and objectives are highly aligned with the alliance’s philosophy.

“Joining the International Digital Therapeutics Alliance is also a recognition of MedSci. We aim to develop digital therapeutics to empower the healthcare ecosystem. Digital therapeutics can not only be used independently as digital drugs for disease treatment, but also serve as an adjunct to current standard pharmacological treatments, and even act as a vital tool for patient health management and rehabilitation, thereby exerting a positive impact on the entire healthcare ecosystem.”To accelerate the rapid development of digital therapeutics, Medlive will open its digital therapeutics platform to more partners at an appropriate time in the future, thereby building an ecosystem for digital therapeutic products.“Dr. Zhang Fabao said.”

At present, digital therapeutics (DTx) remains in its nascent stage, with inconsistent understanding of the field across the industry, particularly among healthcare professionals. Significant efforts are still required to gain recognition from regulatory authorities, healthcare institutions, and clinicians, as well as to achieve prescription status. Leveraging the rapid development of emerging information technologies and internet-based healthcare in China, along with the widespread penetration of mobile smart devices, digital therapeutics boasts broad development prospects and a promising future.