19 Sep 2022 | 02:45 PM GMT

Are DTx a Service or a Product?

About this Meeting

Digital therapeutics (DTx) and drugs are very different care solutions. However, DTx are often compared to traditional pharmaceutical products because the terminology and definitions are unclear. Products  often involve one-off transactions, while services usually imply a continuous billing cycle; products can have low adoption barriers, while services often require continuous engagement; products can be separated from their provider, but services can’t. 

We could say that most DTx are a service (such as Pear’s reSET, Akili’s Endeavor, etc.), while all drugs are products. Based on this, the analogy of DTx with traditional pharmaceutical products is wrong, therefore the intended sales channels are wrong. Would you agree? Join this meeting to discuss it with your peers. More specifically, we will talk about:  

  • What DTx actually is, and understanding the difference between them and traditional pharma products so the industry can play to its strengths rather than trying to square a circle. 
  • Can DTx solutions be separated from their provider? If they can’t, the traditional biotech model of licensing a molecule to a big pharma company doesn’t work for DTx. So, what is the best model? 
  • If we consider DTx a service, pharma is not the role model. What is the star to follow for DTx? What can DTx companies learn from service models in other industries?