Swedish pharmaceutical and digital therapeutic company Orexo has launched its digital solution for alcohol use disorder, vorvida, through the help of Accenture’s INTIENT Patient platform.
The INTIENT Patient platform, which is powered by Google Cloud, supports vorvida’s virtual cognitive behavioral therapy services by providing secure data storage and artificial intelligence-enabled analytics.
"We are delighted to work with Accenture to make our digital therapies even more accessible to those who need them," said Dennis Urbaniak, executive vice president of digital therapeutics at Orexo, in a statement.
"We know that many of our patients are concerned with confidentiality and privacy, and the INTIENT Platform provides a safe, secure platform through which individuals struggling with mental or behavioral issues can confidently get the care they need – right at their fingertips.”
Vorvida’s online platform uses CBT techniques to specifically target each user’s unique relationship with alcohol. Once it gathers the user’s consumption information, it helps them manage their alcohol use by assisting in recognizing habits, changing thought patterns, adjusting everyday consumption and preparing for the future. The system adjusts over time through weekly questionnaires about mood and usage.
In addition to vorvida, Orexo has digital therapeutics for depression and anxiety as well as opioid use disorder.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Approximately 15 million people in the United States have alcohol use disorder, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Symptoms of alcohol use disorder can include being unable to limit the amount of alcohol consumed, unsuccessfully attempting to cut back on consumption, failing to fulfill obligations because of alcohol and experiencing withdrawal symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Digital interventions for alcohol use disorder are becoming more common and are typically effective in decreasing consumption, according to a report from the National Library of Medicine.
In studies specifically testing the effectiveness of vorvida, it was found to be useful in persons with risky, problematic alcohol consumption.
THE LARGER TREND
One of the biggest names in digital therapeutics is Pear Therapeutics, which launched its reSET system for the treatment of substance abuse in 2017 after receiving an FDA de novo clearance. The company has since released reSET-O – a digital therapeutic to treat opioid use disorder.
Others in the space include Quit Genius, which added alcohol and opioid addiction treatments to its digital platform this summer, and Beam Diagnostics, which created an app to predict when a patient might relapse in their alcohol use.
