Novartis partnership targets digital health for asthma
Propeller Health is collaborating with Novartis to co-package the Propeller digital health platform with Enerzair Breezhaler, a recently approved Novartis medication developed to treat uncontrolled asthma.
This collaboration marks the first time a digital health tool will be packaged and prescribed alongside an inhaled asthma medication. Enerzair Breezhaler and Propeller sensor and app received approval from the European Commission in July and will launch across Europe starting in 2020. Healthcare professionals in Europe will have the option to prescribe Enerzair Breezhaler with or without the companion digital health platform.
Enerzair Breezhaler was approved as a maintenance treatment of asthma in adult patients not adequately controlled with a maintenance combination of a long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) and a high dose of an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) who experienced one or more asthma exacerbations in the previous year.
Propeller’s solution works by attaching a sensor to the Enerzai Breezhaler inhaler, which then delivers objective data on medication use to the Propeller app on the patient’s smartphone. The app also sends the patient reminders to take their prescribed dose and keeps a record of adherence data over time. The patient can share that data with their clinician to help inform the patient’s treatment plan.
In previous clinical studies unrelated to this collaboration, the Propeller platform has been shown to increase asthma control by up to 63%, increase medication adherence by up to 58%, and reduce asthma-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations by as much as 57%.
David Van Sickle, co-founder and CEO of Propeller Health, said: “Our collaboration with Novartis to co-package Propeller with Enerzair Breezhaler is the first time a pharmaceutical company and digital health company have worked together to package a digital health platform with an asthma medication. The ability to prescribe a maintenance medication with Propeller will make it easier for healthcare professionals to engage their patients in self-management.”
Propeller previously announced a collaboration with Novartis to develop a custom add-on sensor for the Breezhaler inhaler, a device used for the company’s portfolio of COPD treatments (Ultibro Breezhaler, Onbrez Breezhaler and Seebri Breezhaler), connecting these medications to Propeller’s digital health platform. The same sensor will be co-packaged with Enerzair Breezhaler.