Proteus Launches Digital Meds to Improve Cancer Patient Outcomes

^{Images courtesy of Proteus.}

Cancer patients are now using digital oncology medicines to support treatment regimens and improve outcomes, according to today’s announcement from Proteus Digital Health, Fairview Health Services and University of Minnesota Health.

Digital medicines help patients complete oral chemotherapy cycles while oncologists learn more about their patients’ progress and health status.

Proteus’ digital technology is comprised of ingestible sensors, a wearable sensor patch, an application on a mobile device and a provider portal.

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The release claims that this is the first health system in the world to prescribe digital capecitabine, a common chemotherapy drug, with the Proteus ingestible sensor. The digital medicine is being used to help treat patients with stage 3 and 4 colorectal cancer.

The program gathers, records and shares information about the time, dose and type of oral medication taken. With the consent of the patient, the information, along with data on rest, activity and resting heart rate, are shared with their physician, pharmacist or caretaker.

“Based on our data around the use of digital medicines in other treatment areas, we believe this will enable oncology patients to stay on their therapy longer, avoid hospital admissions and have better response to therapy overall,” said Andrew Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Proteus Digital Health.

This kind of technology helps pharmacists and physicians identify patients who are struggling to properly take their medications and intervene.

And with an estimated 50 percent of patients in the U.S. with chronic diseases not taking their medications as prescribed, the digital medicine could offer a new way to monitor drug intake, improve patient outcomes and save the healthcare system billions of dollars.

Proteus will also be launching a digital oral oncolytic medication registry to gather more real-world experience and data from cancer patients using digital medicines.

“Data gathered from digital oral oncolytics will enable cancer drugs and treatment regimens to be optimized to work their best for each individual patient, something not possible until now,” said Olivia Ware, Proteus’ senior vice president of U.S. markets and franchise development.

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