Healthcare company Otsuka Pharmaceutical and digital medicinesfirm Proteus Digital Health have expanded their collaboration agreement to advance digital medicines for mental health.
The expanded deal will strengthen the relationship between the two companies for the further development and commercialization of a portfolio of medicines including the ABILIFY MYCITE (aripiprazole tablets with sensor) offering, which received NDA approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in November last year.
As part of the expanded collaboration, Otsuka made $88m in related equity and other payments to Proteus.
The agreement includes the development and commercialization of digital medicines over the next five years.
The collaboration reinforces the commitment of both the companies for new advancements in digital medicine products and care models to address the needs of patients who suffer from severe mental illness.
Otsuka North America Pharmaceutical Business Division President and CEO Kabir Nath said: “We are pleased to continue to focus on opportunities to further integrate digital medicines into healthcare eco-systems to provide value-added outcomes for patients suffering from unmet medical needs in the mental health field.
“Our expanding collaboration with Proteus is a cornerstone of this strategy, and further enables us to serve the mental health community by developing additional innovative technology solutions.”
The two companies will form a collaborative team, which will include employees from the Japanese company and Proteus. The team will be dedicated for the commercial development and market coordination for the ABILIFY MYCITE System, software integration and standardization, manufacturing and supply chain integration, and coordination.
This will include joint development of expanded portfolio of digital medicines that will include other therapies such as atypical antipsychotics used in the treatment of serious mental illness integrated with Proteus sensors.
The team will also work on the joint development of next generation product features and sensor capabilities to expand the potential of digital medicines.
Proteus Digital Health president and CEO Andrew Thompson said: “This commitment to a broad, inter-operable platform is the core reason for us to expand our collaboration with Otsuka in mental health.
“This expanded collaboration is a great opportunity to bring novel digital medicine solutions to mental health patients.”
