Merck KGaA and Huma successfully launch cancer patient support app

Last November, when Merck KGaA and Huma announced their collaboration, the goal was to develop digital solutions to help cancer patients understand their treatments. The initiative’s initial focus was on patients with urothelial carcinoma in the U.K., aiming to launch something by this year which the partners have achieved. 

At the beginning of this week, Merck and Huma announced that their bladder cancer treatment companion app is now active in the U.K. Both companies aimed to develop an app that provides educational content and information about support services for cancer patients, guiding them through their often complicated treatment plans.

Through its service, the app aims to keep patients motivated throughout their treatment and help them have productive conversations with their healthcare providers.

Merck and Huma collaborated with healthcare professionals and patient organizations in developing this program, many of whom also piloted the app prior to its official launch. The app is designed to allow patients to keep track of their daily symptoms and progress.

While the app currently only offers support to bladder cancer patients in the U.K., both partner companies plan to expand their geographical reach to other parts of the world and ensure that it supports other types of cancer patients. They announced that they will be making additions to the app regarding these expansions throughout the course of this year.

This is not Huma’s first high-profile pharma collaboration. The digital health tech maker has a long history of collaboration with Bayer and also worked closely with AstraZeneca in 2022.

In its partnership with Bayer, Huma helped develop a heart disease screening tool for the biopharma’s website called Bayer Aspirin last year.

Huma has a two-way relationship with AstraZeneca; not only does it have the financial backing of the drugmaker, but AstraZeneca has also sold its Amaze disease management platform to the software developer. Both companies, however, signed a deal under which they will be working together to expand the platform and develop companion applications for it. The platform as well as these newer apps will be dedicated to offering patient support.