Icelandic digital health company Sidekick Health has announced the acquisition of German prescription digital therapeutics (PDT) company Aidhere. Through this strategic acquisition Sidekick is now adding PDTs to their product portfolio. 

Why It’s Notable:

• Sidekick Health currently offers a gamified digital care platform designed to support health outcomes through personalised behavioural nudges across a variety of conditions including cardiovascular health, diabetes and arthritis. They operate through a B2B model partnering with pharma and payers to offer customised digital care programs. This acquisition adds Aidhere’s experience and expertise in PDTs to Sidekicks product portfolio paving the way for new business opportunities, with the potential to co-develop PDTs in partnership with pharma clients. 

• Through this acquisition Sidekick adds Zanadio to its portfolio, a PDT focused on behavioural change and weight loss. Zanadio is listed on Germany’s DiGA directory, having successfully navigated rigorous regulatory assessments, comprehensive evidence generation and product evaluations. Notably, Zanadio is fully eligible for reimbursement under Germany’s statutory health insurance for patients with a BMI ranging from 30 to 40 kg/m². Zanadio has already fulfilled over 50,000 prescriptions and over 10,000 doctors are prescribing it. 

Industry Implications:

• While the PDT market suffered a number of setbacks earlier this year, when PDT trailblazer Pear Therapeutics closed its doors and a number of companies introduced layoffs, the market continues to grow and is expected to amount to $17B by 2030. Other PDT players in the space have seen growth over the last year, with Better Therapeutics receiving FDA authorisation for its PDT focused on offering cognitive behavioural therapy to help people manage their type 2 diabetes. As a result of this announcement, Better Therapeutics experienced a stock surge of nearly 42%. 

• Earlier this year, we saw the consolidation of other digital health companies when Big Health, the DTx company, acquired Limbix, the renowned developer of PDTs designed to tackle depression among teenagers and young adults. Notably, earlier this year, Aidhere were forced to file for insolvency due to financial difficulties as a result of the DiGA price negotiations. As the PDT market becomes more competitive we may see increased consolidation of companies in the space to combine their expertise to deliver a broader portfolio of products.