Jessica Shull from Digital Therapeutics Alliance about NLSDays’ The new cross-industry playground super session

What is the aim and role of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance?
– The DTA is a non-profit trade association, and the vision is to transform global healthcare by advancing digital therapeutics to improve clinical and health economic outcomes. We do this through broadening the understanding, adoption, and integration of clinically evaluated digital therapeutics with patients, clinicians, payors, policymakers through education, advocacy, and cross-industry collaboration.

You are working with industry relations, what are the challenges and opportunities that we as an industry are facing?
– The biggest challenge we face is getting the concept and modality of DTx understood. This is a new category of medicine, and the idea that software can move clinical endpoints is not easy to grasp. Digital therapeutics (DTx) deliver medical interventions directly to patients using evidence-based, clinically evaluated software to treat, manage, and prevent a broad spectrum of diseases and disorders. They are regulated medical devices in Europe. Yet most physicians, who have no time to scroll through digital health blogs, are not aware of the difference between this calibre of product and wellness mHealth apps. So even though several European countries can prescribe DTx, there’s not yet discussion in the right institutions: medical societies, specialty medical chambers, medical councils, etc. In general, digital health is on the global radar now, so the willingness and the impetus is there, so I see a bright horizon.

What are you hoping to find in the NLSDays partnering?
– I’m excited to hear about new biotech in Sweden and other Nordic countries, and to learn in general the perspective of this community and where the opportunities and obstacles for innovative healthcare may be.