Every day we scan hundreds of articles and press releases to find items, events, trends, developments and other flotsam and jetsam related to specialty pharmacy, specialty infusion and the emerging pharmaceutical marketplace in general. Today we ran across an article published in the Irish ECHO that has some interest for us here in this dear land across the Irish Sea.
A company called HealthSolutions (yep, no space) is making some inroads with US-based specialty pharmacies, including Accredo, with a spiffy new device for patients on injectable therapy. Think of it as AI meets sharps container. It is called the SmartSharpsBin….. catchy name huh?. Now a sharps container by itself is not exactly hot news but one that communicates with its owner to remind them of their next scheduled injection and will alert them if the box isn’t fed the last now used scheduled syringe is noteworthy. And, yes, there is also an app for that on your phone! When the container is about to be full, a new container is automatically sent to the patient who then uses that same mailing container to return the used sharps container….. neat, HUH?
Supposedly, health insurers are reimbursing for the device. And, anyone can obtain one independently via membership (multiple plans are available starting at 12 months for a flat $420 or $35 monthly.)
Whether the concept takes hold remains to be seen…. especially at that price point. None the less, this gizmo is one of the newest tech offerings to promote patient compliance that we’ve seen in some time and, who knows, it may be the start of a new thang.
CLICK HERE to visit the SmartSharpsBin web site.
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HealthBeacon Share Price Jumps by 111% in the Past Month
— HealthBeacon has seen its share price jump by 111% in the past month.
— The Inchicore company, which listed on Euronext Dublin in 2021, develops smart tools to assist patients to manage their medications from their homes.
HealthBeacon’s IPO raised €25m, with the company reporting a market capitalisation of €98.4m on the day of its public listing. This figure now stands at around €32m on Euronext Dublin, while shares have slid around 58 per cent in the past year.
Jim Joyce, the company’s founder and chief executive attributes this to a surge in activity in the US, with a few key areas giving “all that optimism that we’ve got the right product fit”. “We’ve done a number of deals with specialty pharmacy organisations in the US,” he said to the Independent. “Organisations like Accredo, where they integrated the technology into their fundamental offering. “That means if you’re on a high-value injectable medication and you’re working with certain large pharmacy systems, you’re going to be offered the HealthBeacon device as part of going on that medication.
More US partnerships are coming down the line with speciality pharmacy organisations, pharma companies, as well as clinical practices, Mr Joyce says. HealthBeacon’s offerings are reimbursed by insurers in the US.
HealthBeacon has over 20 employees in the US market, with offices in Boston and Orlando. Overall, the company’s headcount stood at around 67 at the end of last year.
The company’s client base grew to 30 last year from 23 in 2021. Sales rose slightly to €2.25m from €2.2m the prior year, while its losses pretax grew to €13m. This was attributed to a global chip shortage and energy crisis, which also weighed on gross margins. However, Joyce is upbeat about what the future holds as the business predicts annualised revenue of €25m by the end of March next year.
