BMS Implementing Digital Therapeutics Strategy

Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (BMS) digital strategy has required thinking differently about the type of value-based relationships the company wants to establish. The true value of digital can be realized through new and untraditional partnerships. The evolution of these partnerships will be similar to biotech and smaller pharma companies and will need its own support infrastructure.

BMS recently entered into a collaboration with Voluntis to co-develop digital therapeutics for oncology. The collaboration is focused on Voluntis’ Theraxium Oncology software platform, which embeds specific modules to design and simulate algorithms. The collaboration will work to create and investigate digital therapeutic solutions that will support cancer patients.

Voluntis has leveraged these modules to design an off-the-shelf library of clinical algorithms, which can be further customized, with the ultimate aim of helping patients to self-manage their own symptoms.

The BMS collaboration seeks to research and develop digital therapeutics based on the Theraxium platform, and provide patients with access to a mobile app that would support treatment and track symptoms. The app will embed the evidence-based algorithms to provide patients with real-time recommendations for self-management of symptoms related to their therapy.

Voluntis has had a mixed record collaborating with pharmaceutical companies. In 2017, Voluntis expanded an alliance with Sanofi to develop a new mobile app for insulin patients which was recently suspended.

Voluntis also has agreements with:

• Roche for a digital therapeutic for anticoagulation treatments.
• AstraZeneca for an app designed to aid patients with self-reporting and management of hypertension and diarrhea associated with Lynparza treatment.
• Novartis on a digital therapeutic platform for breast cancer patients to manage their symptoms.

Takeaway: BMS has developed an internal support infrastructure that it hopes will lead to success in digital therapeutics.