NICE acknowledges that Adherium's Smartinhaler improves asthma medication adherence 

Adherium said Thursday that a Medtech Innovation Briefing (MIB) issued by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recognised that the company's Smartinhaler technology platform can play a role in improving adherence to asthma medication. CEO Garth Sutherland called the briefing "a key milestone in the adoption of digital health technologies by the NHS and other healthcare providers." Adherium's shares rose as much as 8.3 percent on the news.

The MIB stated that the SmartTouch, SmartTouch AV and SmartTurbo2 devices, which each cost 100 pounds ($122), have "the potential to allow real-time monitoring of adherence to asthma treatments," and that "this information can be used to give reminders and share data between patients and clinicians." In the briefing, NICE summarised key points observed from five clinical trials in the UK, Australia and New Zealand that included a total of 589 adults and children with asthma using Smartinhaler in a community setting. NICE said the studies showed that the "devices were more effective than the current standard of care in improving adherence to asthma medication," while results from two of the trials also demonstrated "significant improvement in some clinical outcomes."

According to Adherium, the technology monitors inhaler use by patients with chronic respiratory disease, especially asthma. "Smartinhaler devices attach to prescription inhalers, providing reminders and analysis of inhaler usage, giving patients and healthcare professionals real-time data on medication use, allowing better disease management," the company said. Smartinhaler devices and software were CE-marked between 2014 and 2016.

Last August, Adherium announced that it will provide its Smartinhaler platform to AstraZeneca for a commercial pilot programme to improve medication adherence in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.