Pharma giant Lilly announced the launch of a digital health experience dubbed LillyDirect, which offers patients with diabetes, obesity and migraines access to healthcare providers, educational information and a digital pharmacy for select Lilly medicines.

The platform includes LillyDirect Pharmacy Solutions, which allows patients to order Lilly's drugs via a third-party online pharmacy fulfillment service that can deliver to their homes. 

Independent telehealth providers are also available through LillyDirect, and patients can search for in-person care providers nearby.

"We know that people have come to depend on the efficiency and convenience of digital solutions to meet a variety of their everyday needs – healthcare being one of them," Frank Cunningham, group vice president of global value and access at Lilly, said in a statement. "We launched LillyDirect with the hope that it will offer patients an innovative end-to-end experience to manage their health and access their medicines so they can get back to living their lives."

THE LARGER TREND

Pharma companies have increasingly made their way into the digital health sector. 

Last year, biopharma giant Sanofi announced a $30 million strategic partnership with digital chronic condition management company DarioHeath to develop new digital therapeutics. 

Swedish startup Alex Therapeutics entered into a strategic commercial agreement with Pfizer to create digital therapeutics for nicotine addiction, and consumer genetics company 23andMe announced that it had extended its drug discovery partnership with GlaxoSmithKline, a deal that began in 2018.

In November, AstraZeneca announced the launch of Evinova, a health technology business focused on bringing digital health solutions already in use globally by the pharma company to clinical research organizations, trial sponsors and care teams, and patients.