Check out new developments from Medvantx, Medisafe, Medical Informatics Corp., Journey Biosciences, and GSR Ventures.

A panel discussion at the DTx East conference in Boston discussed whether partnerships between digital health and drugmakers were “a match made in heaven.”

Digital therapeutics clinical trials enable collection and analysis of data in real time, but considerations like standardization of analysis, trial endpoints and placebo controls are critical, experts at the DTx East conference in Boston said.

Through their alliance, Medisafe will deliver real-time interventions to help patients stay adherent and will alert Lash Group’s clinicians when patients are considered “at-risk.”

The new offerings are part of the company’s evolution to what it calls Applied Health Signals, a shorthand to describe their platform’s combination of data science and contextually relevant behavior change tools.

Additionally, Apple previewed new health and fitness components for its smartwatch, as competition with Fitbit continues to build.

Every digital health startup wants clinical validation, but studies have unexpected results. That’s what appears to have greeted Medisafe when it ventured to gather real-world evidence about its mobile health tool.

A JAMA Internal Medicine study found hypertension patients who used the Medisafe app showed a slight improvement in self-reported medication adherence but didn’t show much improvement in blood pressure control.

As part of the collaboration. Medisafe’s digital health tool will be used for Merck KGaA’s drugs spanning Type 2 diabetes, thyroid disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.

The expanded service is designed to provide pharma companies with information that can help inform new strategies and tactics to improve patient engagement.

A Medisafe infographic illustrates how the digital health startup is using de-identified data to visualize when people are most and least likely to take their medication.

Medisafe’s new channel for pharma companies is aimed at helping drug developers better understand adherence dynamics and make it easier to tweak their guidance for patients and physicians.

In some ways, it’s a thinly veiled ad campaign for Nestlé’s pre-surgery nutrition drink, but it’s also a way to engage patients to help prevent surgical infections.