EXTON, Pa., Sept. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) and HealthPrize Technologies, LLC, today announced the completion of the first two phases of their four-phase strategic collaboration. The companies are working to integrate HealthPrize's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) medication adherence and patient-engagement platform with West's injectable drug delivery systems to provide an end-to-end connected health solution for pharmaceutical companies and the patients they serve. The combined offering will provide voluntary, electronically connected drug delivery systems that track when patients take their medication. The HealthPrize system engages and educates patients to increase adherence and medical literacy, rewarding interaction and compliance with prescribed treatment plans, and contributing to better health outcomes.
Phase 1 of the platform allows for patient self-reporting once the medication has been injected. Phase 2 simplifies the self-reporting process through bar coding or QR coding of self-injection systems, which, when scanned, reports use of the injection system to the HealthPrize patient-engagement system via a secure cloud environment. Bar coding allows for the recording of other medication details, including manufacturing information, pedigree, expiration date, dosage and more.
The final phases of development that are currently in progress are fully integrated injection systems with onboard monitoring and built-in wireless communication capability (integrated connected health) and the connection of legacy, mechanical injectors to the HealthPrize platform via an adaptive attachment (legacy connected health).
In all four phases, data captured over time will afford pharmaceutical companies insight into valuable trends and analytics regarding the actual use of their products.
Medication non-adherence is a leading cause of poor clinical outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Industry analysts estimate that poor medication adherence costs the U.S. healthcare system more than $290 billion in otherwise avoidable medical spending.1 According to a recent study performed by Capgemini Consulting and HealthPrize Technologies, the pharmaceutical industry's global revenue loss due to non-adherence to medication for chronic conditions is estimated to be $564 billion.2
"West has joined with HealthPrize to develop this platform because we understand the importance of connected health in achieving better patient adherence and outcomes," said Chris Evans, Vice President, Research & Innovation, West Pharmaceutical Services. "The more sophisticated the HealthPrize technology becomes, the more it can deliver better data that can inform the way we design patient-friendly, intuitive drug delivery systems."
The HealthPrize platform leverages a combination of gamification, behavioral economic concepts, education and rewards to maximize motivational impact. Patients enrolled in HealthPrize programs demonstrate persistently high engagement rates and materially higher adherence rates, nearly 50 percent higher than baseline, on average.
"Our collaboration with West represents a significant leap forward in the ability to engage patients in a meaningful way regarding their injectable treatments, not only in motivating patients to stick with therapy, allowing for improved outcomes, but also in providing pharmaceutical clients with accurate and actionable real-time use data," said HealthPrize CEO and Co-founder Tom Kottler. "The completion of the first two phases of this four-part process is a real milestone."
As a leader in drug packaging and delivery systems, West provides solutions for self-injection technologies that provide new options for higher-dose volumes and drug viscosities. West currently offers pharmaceutical customers several unique drug delivery systems, including the SmartDose® electronic wearable injector—the first wearable bolus injector to be studied in a clinical setting, the SelfDose® injector system and the ConfiDose® autoinjector. West is also one of the largest contract manufacturers of injection pens and autoinjectors globally, producing more than 100 million of these devices each year.
About West
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of packaging components and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products. Working by the side of its customers from concept to patient, West creates products that promote the efficiency, reliability and safety of the world's pharmaceutical drug supply. West is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, and supports its customers from locations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. West's 2014 sales of $1.42 billion reflect the daily use of approximately 110 million of its components and devices, which are designed to improve the delivery of healthcare to patients around the world.
About HealthPrize
HealthPrize's Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) medication adherence and patient-engagement platform provides an innovative approach to addressing the problem of medication nonadherence with an online- and mobile-based program that is fun, educational and rewarding. The HealthPrize system leverages gaming dynamics, behavioral economics and proven concepts from consumer marketing to maximize engagement while also using education to strengthen the intrinsic motivation required for long-term persistence to prescribed medications. For more information, visit www.healthprize.com and follow them on Twitter at @HealthPrize.
SelfDose® and ConfiDose® are registered trademarks of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., in the United States and other jurisdictions.
SmartDose® is a registered trademark of Medimop Medical Projects Ltd., a subsidiary of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
West seeks partners for its SmartDose®, SelfDose® and ConfiDose® injector technology platforms. These platforms are intended to be used as an integrated system with drug filling and final assembly completed by the pharmaceutical/biotechnology company.
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