The first digital pill might offer little more than longer patent life

Back in 2017, when the FDA approved the first sensor-equipped pill in the form of Otsuka Pharmaceuticals’ Abilify MyCite, the company called it a milestone for patient adherence. But a new study claims the evidence is flimsy at best, and the digitization of an old drug might be more of a patent gambit than a medical advance.

As STAT’s Ed Silverman reports, researchers dug through the trial data on Abilify MyCite and concluded that Otsuka failed to demonstrate the technology actually improves adherence. The FDA approved the pill anyway, a decision that could have consequences for consumers, the researchers wrote in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.

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