Otsuka launches pivotal trial of digital therapeutics for depression

"Otsuka Pharmaceutical is partnering with Click Therapeutics to launch a remote clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of digital therapeutics in reducing depressive symptoms.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical is launching a virtual study to see if digital therapeutics can reduce depression symptoms.
It’s the next step in a partnership between the Tokyo-based drugmaker and Click Therapeutics, a digital health startup that is developing programs for smoking cessation, depression and insomnia.
They plan to enroll up to 540 patients in a randomized, controlled trial that will test the digital therapeutic’s efficacy in patients that are taking antidepressants. The remote trial will be conducted using Verily’s Project Baseline platform.
After 10 weeks, participants will be evaluated using the Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), a standard questionnaire used to measure symptoms of depression.
The idea is that the app itself could have a therapeutic effect, though the companies only shared general information about how it works. It involves cognitive exercises to treat depression, according to Click’s website..." Lire la suite