Monsenso signs a contract with Centre for Social Psychiatry and Substance Abuse in Aabenraa municipality, Denmark.

Monsenso signs a contract with Centre for Social Psychiatry and Substance Abuse in Aabenraa municipality, Denmark.

Monsenso signs a contract with the Centre for Social Psychiatry and Substance Abuse in the municipality of Aabenraa in Denmark. The Monsenso digital health solution will be integrated as part of the treatment of citizens living in supported housing to help reduce relapses and re-admissions.

To reduce relapses and re-admissions of citizens suffering from mental disorders and substance abuse, the Centre for Social Psychiatry in Aabenraa Municipality has decided to offer the Monsenso digital health solution as an integrated part of their services in supported housing.

The citizens will be provided with the Monsenso app to keep track of their well-being, symptoms, and medication intake through self-reported data, as well as their behaviour through sensor data collected on mobile phones, sleep mats and watches. The historical data is visualised and helps the citizens remember how they have been doing when they speak with the housing support staff and gain better insight into the behaviours that trigger their symptoms, empowering them to better manage their condition.

The housing support staff access the data via a web portal enabling them to see fluctuations in the mental state of the citizens, hereby offering the opportunity to predict relevant outcomes for mood disorders and reduce potential relapses and readmissions.

The Monsenso app also provides treatment support in the form of Tools & Challenges and Action Plans for coping strategies that citizens can use to overcome stress and abandonment related to daily tasks.

“We are very excited about this project because the solution helps individuals take a more active role in their recovery process. The data captured provides the individuals with insight on how their lifestyle affects their mental well-being, empowering them to make positive changes” says Henning Iversen, Head of Housing Services at Aabenraa Municipality.

“We are excited to see Monsenso digital health solution integrated into the care of citizens living in supported housing.” said Thomas Lethenborg, CEO of Monsenso. “We know that one of the most important components to reducing relapse and increasing mental wellbeing is having the tools to better manage your condition”.

For additional information contact:
Bettina van Wylich-Muxoll
Chief Marketing Officer
marketing@monsenso.com
Monsenso

Monsenso moves into a new disorder area with a new project covering Multiple Sclerosis

Monsenso moves into a new disorder area with a new project covering Multiple Sclerosis

Monsenso, leading provider of digital solutions for mental health, moves into a new disorder area with a project covering Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The project is part of the HedaX research project and is conducted jointly with the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society

The aim of the project, led by Lasse Skovgaard from the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society, is to explore whether data-driven insight from daily self-assessments can empower users to better manage their disease.

In Denmark, approximately 17.200 people have Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and worldwide there are 2.1 million people diagnosed with MS. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system (autoantibodies) begins to attack and destroy the body’s own nerve cells. MS is a progressive disorder that can affect different places in the central nervous system, why symptoms and disabilities are manifold. Due to the broad heterogeneity among the MS patients’ disease courses, it is difficult to personalise a treatment course for better outcomes.

The aim of the study, therefore, is to validate whether data-driven insight from daily self-assessments can empower users and serve as a tool for individual disease management.

Study participants will be provided with the Monsenso app to assess daily self-assessments of symptoms, lifestyle measures and quality of life. Through visualisation of the historical data, the users can gain better insight into the behaviours that trigger their symptoms, thereby empowering them to better manage their disease.

The project is part of the HedaX research project, funded by the Innovation Fund Denmark, which involves ten public and private partners working together to develop a digital platform to ensure health data is securely captured and shared between individuals, healthcare professionals and researchers. The HedaX-project initially covered cancer and bipolar patients but will now be extended to cover MS patients.

‘’The project with Monsenso offers an opportunity to work closely with a patient organisation and determine whether patients can manage their disease better through the use of a state-of-the-art patient-centred app. The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society was chosen as a partner because they have a clear ambitious digital strategy’’ says Troels Bierman Mortensen, CEO of DataFair and Project Manager for the HedaX project.

“Multiple Sclerosis is a serious and disabling disease. We are therefore pleased if the Monsenso solution can help to improve future treatments,” says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO of Monsenso.

About the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society
The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society is a nationwide organisation with 48 local branches throughout the country and the Faroe Islands and over 60 years of experience in making a difference by leading the way in research, patient support and providing information on Multiple Sclerosis. The organisation counts more than 60,000 members and donors – including 12,000 members with MS which corresponds to 80 percent of all Danish patients with MS.

About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com.

To read the Danish version, click here

For additional information contact:

Bettina van Wylich-Muxoll
Chief Marketing Officer
marketing@monsenso.com
Monsenso

Patient Voice in RWE: generating evidence that will impact payer and HTA decision-making

Patient Voice in RWE: generating evidence that will impact payer and HTA decision-making

With the rise of patient-centered medicine and accelerated approvals, health technology assessment (HTA) bodies and payers are looking to real-world evidence (RWE) to strengthen evidence packages and reduce uncertainties at the time of launch.

Increasingly, stakeholders are recognizing the importance of RWE that incorporates patients’ real-world experiences in understanding what treatments work, and for whom, in clinical practice.

Real-world evidence is generated through applying data science to real-world data (RWD), or data “relating to patient health status or the delivery of healthcare routinely collected from EHRs, claims, registries, patient-reported outcomes, devices/applications, etc.” Decision-makers are exploring how this evidence can supplement clinical trials and provide additional context on the effectiveness of therapies.

There is some overlap between patient experience data, which provides information about a patient’s experience with a disease or condition, and real-world data (RWD), however, they are not one and the same. For example, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) collected in an electronic health record (EHR) would be considered both RWD and patient experience data, however, lab test results in the medical record would be considered only RWD. As personalized medicine continues to gain traction, decision-makers like ICER, FDA, NPC, EMA, EUNetHTA, and EHDEN are calling for patients’ voices to be included in the drug development and assessment process. Such information – direct input from patients on how they feel and function is often lacking from RWD sources, and FDA and EMA identified such missing data as problematic for interpretation.

We spoke with Ashley Jaksa MPH, Scientific Partnerships Lead, Aetion and Chung Yen Looi, DPhil Partnerships Director, Monsenso, about the evolving landscape of patient experience data and how biopharma organizations can incorporate the patient voice into their RWD and RWE programs.

Q: Ashley, can you tell our readers a little more about what Aetion does? 

AJ: Aetion is a healthcare technology company that uses routinely collected health care data to generate RWE on the safety and effectiveness of medical treatments and technologies. We were founded by Harvard epidemiologists to develop a way to conduct scalable and transparent RWD analyses at the highest level of scientific rigour. Our RWE analytics platform helps biopharma organizations, regulators, HTAs, payers, and other researchers generate RWE to inform decisions on the safety, effectiveness, and value of medical interventions across the product lifecycle. Our platform is data fluent, meaning it can analyze almost any type of RWD, and we often work with our customers and partners to identify the most fit-for-purpose data set for their research question.

Q: Why is the patient experience important for biopharma to understand, and where in the drug development lifecycle is it most important to integrate patients’ voices? 

CL: I think we can all agree that pharma and its stakeholders want to develop safe and effective drugs and bring them to market, to improve patients’ lives. As such, asking patients directly about how a drug impacts their lives is critical. Without the patient voice, we will never know how patients experience therapies in the real world, and how medical interventions could make a meaningful difference to their lives. Capturing and incorporating the patient voice across the product lifecycle can help biopharma companies to better understand the real-world impact of their drug, treatment responders, and meaningful endpoints based on a wider, representative population, in a quick and cost-effective way. 

AJ: Similar to RWE, patient experience data is important in almost all stages of the product lifecycle—not just as a post-marketing exercise. For example, understanding the treatment pathways and patient experiences on first-line therapies can help shape what comparators and outcomes should be captured in future randomized controlled trials to differentiate the drug in the market.

Q: How can incorporating the patient voice improve market access?

CL: Patient voice is a powerful way to demonstrate the impact of a drug on patients’ quality of life to payers and HTA bodies, particularly for cost-effectiveness evaluations. Some biopharma organizations have used PRO measures on daily functioning and health-related quality of life as their primary and secondary endpoints in clinical and real-world studies, while others have directly linked PROs to their drug reimbursement contracts. Patient voice contributions can help biopharma companies differentiate their product from similar drugs for coverage, especially for payers who are tying reimbursement to the value to patients based on outcomes and have longer-term responsibilities for their populations.  Some of the common myths are that “payers don’t care about PRO evidence, PROs only matter if they make it to the label, and that PROs should only be collected in Phase IV.” The facts are that not all payers are alike. Some pay a lot of attention to PRO evidence. Payers will consider all data from pivotal trials, whether or not it is on the package insert, and coverage decisions will be made on pivotal trials, so waiting until Phase IV to collect PROs would be too late.

Q: What are the common barriers in generating high-quality, patient-centric RWE?

AJ: I think the common barriers to generating RWE and patient-centric RWE are very similar; researchers must ensure that the data exists, that the data is capturing the relevant underlying medical concept, and that it is generated in a way that limits bias and confounding. Traditional RWD sources, like claims and EHRs, often have limited patient-centric data. This is a challenge for researchers attempting to incorporate this information into their studies. However, groups like Friends of Cancer Research and data providers like Monsenso are working to ensure this information is being collected. Once it is collected, it is essential to validate that these data and algorithms are actually measuring what we are intending to measure. Finally, researchers must be cognizant of bias and confounding and control for this as much as possible through study design and analytic methods. 

CL: Adding to Ashley’s points, I think data privacy and security, patients’ burden of contributing to research, and standardized methodology to analysis and interpretation are common barriers. It may seem like a no-brainer to ensure that patient data is managed in a secure way, but a recent study showed that almost a third of health apps out there collect patient data without privacy policy, and about one in five data transmissions occurred on insecure communication protocols. Furthermore, as patients are already suffering from their disease or conditions, contributing to research could add to their burden, which is why data capture platforms should be designed in a way that is easy-to-use and that provides valuable insights to patients. Finally, there is a lack of standardization in analysis and interpretation—which is why companies like Aetion are important to ensure that critical questions are answered, data sets are relevant, and standards are followed to derive and present meaningful insights that will inform decision-making.

Q: How can biopharma generate high-quality, patient-centric RWE for decision-makers? 

AJ: In addition to addressing the common barriers mentioned above, we think it is important to follow a principled approach to study design and execution. The main reasons why decision-makers like regulators and HTAs/payers dismiss RWE are due to deficient data selection and insufficient methodology. Following principled epidemiologic methods of selecting fit-for-purpose data, avoiding common methodological mistakes, and ensuring the protocol and results are clearly communicated are essential to ensuring the decision-makers trust the evidence. This planning and execution of RWE studies is not easy; it takes forethought. Biopharma manufacturers should be considering RWE at every stage of the product lifecycle, and proactively planning for how RWE studies will be incorporated into each product’s launch. 

Q. What is the cost-benefit for biopharma of generating patient-centric RWE? 

CL: Relative to the costs of bringing a new drug to market – which could go up to billions of dollars and take over a decade, with limited success ratesthe costs associated with collecting patient-centric RWE is insignificant. In return, patient-centric evidence could provide significant savings and valuable insights as early as possible to ensure that new drugs are truly driven by patients’ unmet needs, that they impact outcomes that matter to patients, and, ultimately, that they have the greatest chance of reaching the market and making a meaningful difference to patients. 

AJ: RWE can provide value for biopharma organizations across the product lifecycle—from eliminating costs typically incurred during clinical trials to accelerating time to market. Using a validated RWE platform can take this a step further, allowing companies to run more efficient, credible studies and reach insights faster than they could with traditional line programming. By ensuring patient-centric outcomes are collected in clinical data sources, then incorporating patient-centric RWE across drug development and commercialization programs, biopharma organizations can unlock insights that deliver value not only for their company but for patients as well. 

Q: Lastly, for our readers who are not familiar with Monsenso, Looi can you kindly tell a little more about what Monsenso does? 

CL: of course, Monsenso is a digital health company that enables patient-centric care and research. We’re a spinout from the IT University of Copenhagen based on the groundbreaking research of Professor Lars Kessing and Dr. Mads Frost on bipolar disorder and depression. We were founded in 2013 and have been listed on Nasdaq First North in Denmark since 2020. Our solution enables pharma companies to collect self-reported and device-generated data directly from patients in a simple, scalable, secure, and cost-effective way. Our cloud-based platform connects patients and investigators via an app and a web portal, respectively, to collect data in real-time across clinical development, post-market studies, and clinical practice to inform decision-making. Our platform can integrate with wearable devices and sensors, and combine with other RWD sources to provide a more holistic view of the impact of a drug on patients’ lives.

Monsenso is Cyber Essentials certified

Monsenso is Cyber Essentials certified

Copenhagen, Denmark – 8th of April 2021.

Monsenso A/S, a technology leader in digital health solutions for mental health is now Cyber Essentials certified.
The Monsenso digital health solution that connects individuals and clinicians to provide optimal care received a Cyber Essentials certification demonstrating the company’s commitment to security and data protection.

Cyber Essentials is the UK Government’s answer to a safer internet space for organisations of all sizes, across all sectors. Developed and operated by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the Cyber Essentials certificate assures that essential cyber security measures are in place to protect data against cyber-attacks.

“Monsenso is committed to adhere to the highest security standards. Beyond the Cyber Essentials certification, Monsenso holds the ISO 13485 and ISO 27001 certifications, a TGA certification, class 1 CE mark and is HIPAA compliant. The Cyber Essentials certification demonstrates our continuous commitment to keep the data of our customers secure” says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO at Monsenso.

To read more about our data protection, download our Data management & Security fact sheet.

About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our  endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com.

For additional information contact:
Bettina van Wylich-Muxoll
Chief Marketing Officer
Monsenso
+45 22 70 47 24
marketing@monsenso.com

The EcoWeb project has recruited more than 1600 participants across four countries despite COVID-19

The EcoWeb project has recruited more than 1600 participants across four countries despite COVID-19

Since the EcoWeB project launched MyMoodCoach (an app powered by Monsenso) in November 2020 it has recruited more than 1600 young participants in Belgium, UK, Spain and Germany.

The EcoWeB research study, led by Professor Ed Watkins University of Exeter, seeks to understand what influences mood, how emotions change over time, and which emotional skills increase well-being among youth.

The participants are asked to use MyMoodCoach to monitor their emotions in daily life, while giving them access to “Tools” and “Challenges” to boost their mental health and wellbeing. ‘Tools’ provide the participants with strategies to help them if they feel sad, stressed, anxious or have a problem. ‘Challenges’ help them to learn new skills, develop a positive mindset, improve their confidence and gain insight into their emotions.

The strong pick up of MyMoodCoach reflects a desire among youth to take better care of their mental wellbeing.

“We are very pleased to contribute to this project, as young people have been particularly impacted by COVID-19.” says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO of Monsenso. “Mobile health solutions have proved true value during the pandemic, allowing both clinical practice and important research projects to continue despite lockdowns.”

About the project:

The EcoWeB project is led by Professor Ed Watkins, University of Exeter, and involves 13 different institutions across 8 European nations (the UK, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Greece, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Switzerland). The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 754657.

About Monsenso digital health solution:
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and health care providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavours to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and health care professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com.