Comment: May cause unintended side effects: The interplay between medical devices and pharma

Dave Gray examines the trend of medical devices reversing the side effects of the pharmaceutical business. 

We’ve written a few times about the interplay that exists between medical devices and pharma. With advances in digital drug delivery, and the use of wearables in clinical trials, that close bond is only set to get stronger.

But there’s also a new trend emerging as part of this co-operation: medical devices for reversing the side effects of the pharmaceutical business.

For example, I read recently that the FDA has selected eight medical device firms to work on solutions to try and bring the opioid crisis to an end. As part of its Breakthrough Devices programme, the agency will work closely with the eight firms to expedite the arrival of their technologies on the market. These companies were whittled down from over 250 applicants, all seeking to try and reverse what can be reversed of the damage caused by certain drugs and their dispensation.

According to the FDA, it is trying to help scale up and commercialise either devices which can identify those vulnerable to addiction, or devices which can manage pain as an alternative to medication. One of the winning entrants is iPill Dispenser, which uses a biometric app to help reduce overconsumption by dispensing pills based on prescriptions.

It’s not the first time in recent months that the FDA has turned to medical devices to counteract the unintended consequences of our dependence on drugs. Back in September, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb outlined the agency’s collaborations with innovators working on diagnostic devices to identify resistant strains of bacteria