Pear Therapeutics is looking to enter the depression space with the acquisition of fellow digital-therapeutic company Waypoint Health Innovations’ assets, as well as the assets of Örebro University researcher Fredrik Holländare.

“The addition of these depression assets to our portfolio fits squarely in our near-term focus to expand our leadership in psychiatry. With these deals, we have the potential to optimize our depression PDT candidate to help address one of the largest patient populations in mental and behavioral health,” said Corey McCann, president and CEO of Pear Therapeutics.

Waypoint’s DTx uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to help treat depression. Its therapeutic is delivered though symptom assessments, videos, interactive tools and personalized algorithms. The DTx has been the subject of several clinical studies, but the company has yet to submit its work to the FDA. 

Holländare has created an internet-based CBT (iCBT) focused on the residual symptoms of depression and curbing relapse. The iCBT is split up into nine different modules, including ones on behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring, sleep, relaxation, mindfulness and other areas. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

Depression is a common condition in the United States. In fact, 4.7% of all adults over the age of 18 experience regular feelings of depression, according to the CDC. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of anxiety and depression sharply increased. According to Kaiser Family Foundation research, in January 2021, 41.1% of adults experienced symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder. 

THE LARGER TREND 

Earlier this month Pear completed its SPAC merger and began trading on Nasdaq. The company made headlines when it landed an FDA De Novo in 2017 for its digital therapeutic called reSET, which was focused on treating substance abuse. It has since landed FDA 510(k) clearance for its opioid use disorder therapeutic and its insomnia-focused DTx.

The company has a number of other therapeutics in the pipeline. For example, it is also working on a DTx for schizophrenia. When the FDA loosened its restrictions around digital mental health tools during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pear released it for limited distribution in April 2020. 

Pear isn’t the only digital therapeutics company looking to help treat depression. Happify Health rolled out its first PDTx for anxiety and depression over the summer. However, Happify Health still does not have an FDA clearance, and it is also taking advantage of the FDA's relaxed regulations.