VR’s potential in digital therapeutics is muted thanks to barriers like cost and unclear efficacy: On the back of VR DTx startup MindMaze’s $125M, we detail the operational barriers stymieing it and its peers from making a wide scale impact in healthcare anytime soon.

Telehealth stands stronger with DTx than alone: Amwell is acquiring digital mental health therapeutics company SilverCloud and automated virtual care firm Conversa Health, signalling a new chapter in telehealth.

Digital therapeutics (DTx) were gaining popularity as tools to help slash the US’ $3 trillion annual spending on chronic disease, and the pandemic has vaulted digital therapies into the spotlight. Now, the Teladoc-Livongo megamerger is heating up competition in the DTx space as players race to capture a slice of a market slated to reach $56 billion by 2025.

Pear Therapeutics announced it’s going public via a $1.6B SPAC merger—while we think it could trigger a string of digital therapeutics M&As, CMS reimbursement will be the key to wide-scale expansion.

SPACs and bankers have reportedly approached Omada about making a public debut—underscoring how rapidly the digital therapeutics space has transformed over the past year as companies test international waters.

Go deeper: Check out our Digital Therapeutics report to learn more about how digital therapies are penetrating healthcare.

For example, digital therapy vendor Happify Health recently released a prescription digital therapeutic for major depressive disorder (Ensemble), which will be integrated into a physician’s EHR to make it easier to prescribe the app. As a result, the company’s execs are confident their EHR-integrated product will get reimbursed by top payers upon receiving FDA clearance.

And Boehringer Ingelheim inked a $500 million deal with DTx vendor Click Therapeutics to develop and commercialize a digital treatment for schizophrenic patients. But it’s unlikely consumers will try out digital therapies developed by companies they don’t trust.

Happify Health launched the first-ever prescription digital therapy for anxiety and depression, giving it a competitive edge over its peers—but if DTx companies want doctors to prescribe their apps, they’ll need insurers on their side.

The news: Physicians debated the clinical value of digital therapeutics (DTx) at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) annual meeting that was held June 25-29, according to STAT. While some doctors agreed programs like Livongo for Diabetes helped reduce medical spending, other docs were more wary of tech like it. For example, Dr.

And in May 2021, digital therapeutics startup Akili secured $160 million to further development of its kids’ video game-based treatment apps for conditions like ADHD and ASD. Investor interest in specialty telemental health areas like ASD should only rise as the number of pediatric cases climb, too:.

Most virtual physical therapy solutions on the market are being offered by MSK digital therapeutics (DTx) companies, but more telehealth players should leverage their existing patient populations and step into the virtual physical therapy market—projected to be worth over $9 billion by 2027, per Fortune Business Insights.

., Optum’s $13 billion acquisition of healthcare analytics co Change Healthcare and Teladoc’s $18.5 billion acquisition of digital therapeutics company Livongo.

Over 350,000 digital health apps are currently available to consumers—many of which are geared toward wellness, but there’s been a rise in digital therapeutics (DTx) apps. In 2021, 47% of all apps focus on managing specific health conditions (like chronic diseases or mental health), compared with 28% in 2015.

Just last week, Amwell acquired a digital therapeutics company for mental health (SilverCloud) and an AI-driven care coordination firm (Conversa Health). And Big Tech is also vying for a slice of the telehealth market: On top of Walmart’s MeMD acquisition, Amazon Care is quietly expanding to employers across the US.