Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Biofourmis announced that they have entered into a new partnership agreement for the continued development and real-world use of digital solutions to objectively measure pain in patients with endometriosis. Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of all women of reproductive age and 70% of women with chronic pelvic pain, resulting in a reduced quality of life.
The two companies have been collaborating on developing a new objective assessment of pain in patients with endometriosis using a biosensor and an AI-based algorithm utilizing Biofourmis’ Biovitals platform since July 2020. Since pain is a subjective symptom, it can be difficult to accurately convey to family members and healthcare professionals the degree of pain patients experience. In addition, access to early diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis is inadequate.
Further advances in pain quantification technologies in endometriosis patients could lead to a better understanding of the pathology, to guide appropriate medical care and advance clinical trials. By providing new digital solutions, Chugai aims to further enhance its value propositions for endometriosis patients.
The collaboration will focus on:
- Continued development of objective measurement technology for pain associated with endometriosis
- Advancing progress on a technology platform for a real-world data driven pain measurement and supporting patient care
- Virtual specialty care delivery by Biofourmis for endometriosis patients in the U.S.
- Utilization of data collected during research and development and post-marketing of Chugai’s investigational product for the treatment of endometriosis pain, AMY109
“Since 2020, we have partnered with Biofourmis, a global leader in technology-enabled remote care and personalized therapies for patients, to understand the pathophysiology of endometriosis through the joint development of an objective evaluation of pain associated with the disease,” said Chugai’s President and CEO, Dr. Osamu Okuda. “Through this new partnership, with the aim of further advancement, we will work toward realizing patient-centric healthcare. In addition, we will strive to deliver new value to patients as part of the Insight Business outlined in our growth strategy, TOP I 2030.”
“Chugai and Biofourmis have already seen highly promising results in our work together to objectively quantify pain by identifying digital biomarkers in patients with endometriosis,” said Kuldeep Singh Rajput, CEO and founder of Biofourmis. “Expanding this collaboration from research and development to real-world use demonstrates the scalability and flexibility of Biofourmis’ end-to-end platform and solutions for both drug development and healthcare delivery. Our focus is on solving the biggest pain points in care delivery and pharma R&D, and this patient-centered collaboration with Chugai is a leading example.”