USA – Digital therapeutics (DTx) startup Sidekick Health has announced an integrated solution in conjunction with pharma firm Eli Lilly and Company for patients with breast cancer to stick to their medication regimens.

The duo also said they plan to expand their work into other disease and treatment areas.

Through Sidekick’s platform, patients will be given access to a tailored digital treatment plan to promote behavior modification and overcome barriers to change, with central focus on physical activity, diet, sleep and stress management.

Patients will also be able to access educational content developed in league with advocacy groups and clinical experts, helping to provide unique insights into living with cancer.

The team-up comes shortly after Sidekick raised US$55 million in venture capital funding to grow its video-game-like platforms to people with multiple chronic conditions.

The integrated DTx offering will be initially rolled out in Germany from July, with next steps for the collaboration being considered, including forays into other international markets.

At Sidekick, it is our goal to empower patients to take real steps toward better managing their disease and alleviating the negative side effects of treatment,” Co-founder and CEO Tryggvi Thorgeirsson said in a statement.

Cancer treatment often leaves patients physically and emotionally drained and, as a result, we are making it as easy and convenient as possible to access life-saving guidance by bringing healthcare into people’s homes,” Thorgeirsson added.

Breast cancer takes a toll on an individual’s physical and mental health, making support of both extremely important during the treatment journey,” said Lilly’s chief digital officer, Rich Carter.

The team-up comes shortly after Sidekick raised US$55 million in venture capital funding to grow its video-game-like platforms to people with multiple chronic conditions.

The Swedish company has previously signed Big Pharma partnerships to provide complementary digital programs alongside prescription drugs, including with Bayer in peripheral artery disease and Pfizer for a slate of five inflammatory conditions.

Meanwhile, Israel-based startup Ibex Medical Analytics has announced a CE mark for Galen Gastric, a diagnostics solution that supports pathologists in the detection of various types of gastric cancer.

The CE mark follows results from a blinded, multi-site clinical study at Medipath pathology network in France and Maccabi Healthcare Services health network in Israel.

Galen Gastric demonstrated very high accuracy in detecting various types of gastric cancer, as well as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori – a common gastric bacterial infection and a precursor for cancer), neuroendocrine lesions, dysplasia, adenoma and additional pathologies.

Judith Sandbank, MD, director of the pathology institute at Maccabi Healthcare Services, said: “We have already started to use Galen Gastric in Maccabi and it helped us improve the quality of cancer diagnosis and patient care.

Liked this article? Sign up to receive our regular email newsletters, focused on Africa and World’s healthcare industry, directly into your inbox. SUBSCRIBE HERE