FDA Approves Abilify Pill With Embedded Digital Sensor to Track Ingestion

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Mondayapproved Abilify MyCite —aripiprazole tablets with a sensor that digitally tracks if patients have ingested their medication.The product is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder, and for use as an add-on treatment for depression in adults.According to an FDA press release, the system works by sending a message from the pill ’s sensor to a wearable patch. The patch transmits the information to a mobile application so that patients can track the ingestion of the medication on their smartphone. Patients can also permit their caregivers and physician to access the information through a web-based portal.“Being able to track ingestion of medications prescribed for mental illness may be useful for some patients,” Mitchell Mathis, M.D., director of the Division of Psychiatry Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in the FDA press release. “The FDA supports the deve lopment and use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committed to working with companies to understand how technology might benefit patients and prescribers.”The FDA noted in its release that the ability of the product to improve patient compliance with their treatment regimen has not been shown. Abilify MyCite should not be used to track drug ingestion in “real-time” or during an emergency because detection may be delayed or may ...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Abilify MyCite digital health feedback system digital sensor Food and Drug Administration John Kane Proteus Digital Health treatment adherence Source Type: research