Better Therapeutics Demonstrates Proof of Concept in the Use of Digital Biomarkers to Improve Treatment Outcomes

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Better Therapeutics announced the publication of its latest study titled Emergence of digital biomarkers to predict and modify treatment efficacy: a machine learning study, in BMJ Open, a peer-reviewed open access medical journal published by the British Medical Journal.

The study was conducted using data from 135 adult participants with hypertension. On average, participants were 55 years old, with a baseline BMI of 35, and were taking 1.3 antihypertensive medications. 83% were female.

"In this paper, we presented our ongoing work to develop digital biomarkers and to illustrate their utility in digitally-delivered behavioral interventions to both the patient and prescribing clinician," said Nicole Guthrie, MS, Clinical Research Lead, and first author. "We demonstrated that even limited data can be transformed using machine learning into a digital biomarker that predicts the degree of treatment response, in this case, a meaningful drop in blood pressure."

By transforming data from the use of digital therapeutics into markers of disease status or "digital biomarkers", emerging digital therapies could provide clinically actionable insights with or without conventional biometric data.

"Our aim is to develop cuff-less blood pressure and stick-less blood glucose biomarkers that would allow for more continuous care at a lower burden to patients and the health system," said Kevin Appelbaum, CEO.

The publication is available at BMJ Open.

About Better Therapeutics
Better develops prescription software for treating cardiometabolic diseases. By integrating elements of neuroscience, lifestyle medicine, and artificial intelligence, the company has created a new modality for treating a broad range of conditions that share common root causes. The company's digital therapeutics have been validated in peer-reviewed and published clinical trials. Better is beginning to commercialize with health plans, while pursuing regulatory approval of its first prescription digital therapeutic in diabetes. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and has business operations in Boston, MA, and Nashville, TN.

About Hypertension
According to the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, 46% of US adults have hypertension, or high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading contributor of preventable death worldwide and is due, in large part, to poor quality diets and sedentary lifestyles. Despite the array of antihypertensive medications available for the past several decades, only half of those with hypertension have well controlled blood pressure.

In addition to pharmacotherapy, clinical guidelines in the United States and worldwide call for the initiation of behavioral therapy focused on diet and lifestyle for all patients with hypertension, because it is known that lifestyle changes can effectively reduce blood pressure while improving other cardiovascular risk factors, without negative side effects. However, there are currently few prescription solutions available to physicians for initiating behavioral therapy in patients.

SOURCE Better Therapeutics