Bayer is teaming up with Mahana Therapeutics in a “multi-million-dollar” distribution and marketing partnership to commercialize digital therapeutics, Mahana announced today .
Details in the statement from Mahana are sparse, and both companies declined to reveal more details about the dollar amount of the partnership.
Simon Levy, CEO of Mahana, said in a statement the deal is “among the first major investments ever made by a global life sciences company into the emerging marketplace for digital therapeutics” and that the partnership is with Bayer’s consumer health division.
A representative for Bayer declined to elaborate on what areas the partnership will focus on, but the pharma giant is looking at licensing as well as co-developing digital therapeutics. The representative added that it’s Bayer’s first formal partnership focused on developing a digital therapeutic.
The move comes after the consumer health division of Bayer launched a business unit in May that will focus on digital precision health products, including the work with Mahana. Before the launch of this unit, Bayer had already been moving into the space with a project with partner Ada Health, an app that recommends next healthcare steps based
on a symptom assessment. Earlier this year, Bayer launched a fully-digital heart risk assessment with Huma.
Mahana Therapeutics raised a $61 million Series B in 2021 in order to launch its FDA-cleared prescription digital therapeutic Mahana IBS, as well as other planned therapeutics. It’s a three-month digital treatment that provides cognitive behavioral therapy for adults to
help with IBS symptoms. The product has also been launched in the UK, marketed as Parallel.
Mahana secured a worldwide license for the digital product in 2020 from King’s College London.
Bayer teams up, Bayer teams up
