Newel Health begins next phase of development of Soturi

Soturi, Newel Health’s digital therapeutics solution for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), has begun the next phase of development, aiming to validate its AI-driven decision support system for Parkinson’s disease management.

Developed in partnership with Orion Corporation, Soturi leverages data collected from a wearable sensor, using an algorithm-based decision-making method to optimise and personalise treatment for people living with PD, while also delivering a host of useful digital services to the solution’s users.

The project will be presented at the SINdem conference in Bressanone, Italy on 24th February. The research into Soturi’s approach to PD management is being funded by a generous grant [MJFF-022711] from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF).

Soturi utilises smart band technology, equipped with inertial sensors to track movements, detect symptom patterns, and allow physicians to monitor the frequency and severity of their patient's symptoms. The current phase of the project aims to validate the effectiveness of the Soturi algorithms as a decision support system for physicians treating people with the disease.

Soturi’s clinical research is being conducted under the supervision of the project’s lead clinical advisor, Professor Maria Teresa Pellecchia, Associate Professor in Neurology at the Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, Scuola Medica Salernitana at the University of Salerno. Prof Pellecchia is also responsible for the Program of Experimental Neurology at the University Hospital San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona in Salerno. She has long-term clinical research experience in movement disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism.

Prof Pellecchia said: "The Soturi solution, while providing complementary treatments to patients with Parkinson's disease, is expected to fulfil an important unmet need for both patients and physicians that is the correct recognition and remote monitoring of motor symptoms, motor fluctuations, and dyskinesia.”

Sammeli Liikanen, head of digital medicines at Orion Corporation, commented: “Orion is committed to creating novel solutions that will improve the lives of patients living with chronic diseases and to help the healthcare professionals that treat them.”

Liikanen continued: “Orion is proud, pleased, and looking forward to future activities in the Soturi project. We thank MJFF, patient associations, and [the] global network of PD patients and HCPs that treat them for their collaboration and support in this project.”

Dr Silja-Riin Voolma, head of behavioural science at Newel Health, said: “Soturi offers a behavioural science-driven companion for navigating life with Parkinson’s disease, providing contextualised support to build and maintain healthy habits, including treatment adherence, in several cultures and language groups across Europe and the US.”

Dr Voolma added: “We are thrilled to be launching the next phase of development for Soturi, and grateful for funding support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation, a significant contribution in Newel Health’s profile of digital therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of its users.”

Additional comment was made by Gerry Chillè, chief strategy officer at Newel: “The project, now in its third year, proves that successful collaborations in the development of digital therapeutic solutions can be made, working in partnership with like-minded pharmaceutical companies like Orion.”

And Giovanni Gentile, clinical trial manager at the company, noted: “Soturi's algorithm-based clinical decision support system will be designed to provide physicians with real-time data and insights to optimise and personalise treatment for people with Parkinson's.”

Gentile continued: “Designing algorithms and digital services that can go beyond the limitations of current in-clinic assessments by capturing valuable information from people's daily lives is our most fascinating challenge. We are excited to collaborate with Professor Pellecchia and her team to validate the clinical effectiveness of Soturi's digital health technology.”

The project will be presented to neurologists on 24th February in Bressanone, Italy at the 10th Winter Seminar on Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disorders conference, organised by SINdem4Juniors.

Institutions and neurologists interested in collaborating on R&D activities for Soturi are welcome to contact Newel Health here.

About Newel Health

Newel Health is an innovative company that aims to improve the lives of people that live with a health condition and their doctors, through the creation of beautifully designed and clinically validated digital medicine (DM) and digital therapeutic (DTx) solutions.

Born from an investment play by Healthware Ventures, the company has executed a series of strategic acquisitions of early stage start-ups, which now constitute a portion of its products’ pipeline.

Its team of experts, comprised of professionals in digital, data, behavioural, and scientific fields, have extensive experience in the life sciences industry.

Strategically partnering with pharmaceutical, medical device, and other health and wellness companies allows Newel Health to expand its customer reach and achieve its vision of future health. A long history of industry partnerships and a focus on patient-centricity enables successful outcomes in these shared initiatives.

The company actively researches and develops new digital product concepts in additional therapeutic areas with the goal of entering new partnerships and extending its portfolio of DTx solutions.

Newel Health also owns H.Core, a proprietary rapid-development SaMD (medical device software) framework designed to accelerate the design, validation, production, and launch of DM and DTx solutions.

For more information, please visit newel.health and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.