Connected dispenser could transform ophthalmics clinical trials

Aptar Pharma and Kali Care are partnering to track patient adherence with ophthalmic drug regimens during clinical trials. Kali Care has developed a digital monitoring system for ophthalmic medications that Aptar Pharma will deploy on its drug dispensing solutions.

Silicon Valley-based Kali Care has developed a monitoring solution that integrates smart sensors, data analytics, and cloud services, allowing clinicians to collect real-time data.

Aptar Pharma offers a range of dispensing technologies. The company recently supported Allergan’s launch of what Aptar calls the first FDA-approved prescription preservative-free ophthalmic multidose product (Restasis MultiDose).

According to a statement issued by Aptar Pharma and Kali Care, the ability to see the medication adherence score of patients with glaucoma could be a powerful tool for managing treatment plans. “The Kali Care Adherence Score provides critical information for explaining the incongruity between recommended treatment and actual treatment outcomes,” it states. Such an understanding could result in shorter and more efficient clinical trials.

“Clinicians are now able to rely on objective and accurate data,” reported Salim Haffar, President of Aptar Pharma, and Sina Fateh, MD, Founder and CEO of Kali Care, in the joint statement. “Aptar Pharma’s leading dispensing technologies combined with Kali Care’s smart sensors, data analytics, and cloud services will help make clinical trials more efficient and effective. This allows ophthalmologists to improve risk strategies to distinguish patients requiring minimal support from those who require closer monitoring.”

Fateh added that because Aptar Pharma is well-respected for its proven regulatory expertise, this will help his company move forward through approval and compliance processes.  

For more information, visit aptar.com/pharma. Aptar Pharma exhibited at Booth #3102 at CPhI North America May 16-18 in Philadelphia.

User-centered design will be one of the major themes at the upcoming Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East 2017 conference in June. Check out these sessions and more:

To Err is Human, But How Do You Prevent It? Speaker: Michael Wiklund, General Manager, Human Factors Engineering, UL LLC, Wiklund R&D

Panel: What Does Usability Mean Today for Medical Device Engineers? Moderator: Stephen Wilcox, Principal, Design Science; Panelists: Daniel Kosoy, MD, Partner, Athenian Venture Partners; Jim Lebret, MD, Physician, New York University School of Medicine; and David Brick, MD, FAAP, FACC, Clinical Associate Professor, New York University Medical Center