How a South Korean Digital Therapeutics Startup is Expanding Globally

 

[Photo: From left, Dr. Hwang Soonjo, Professor of Pediatric and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC); Dr. Howard Liu, Chair of the Psychiatry Department at UNMC; Tai-Myoung Chung, CEO of Hippo T&C]

 

For South Korean startups developing digital therapeutics, rapid global expansion can be achieved through strategic collaborations with influential local partners rather than solely by establishing operations in target countries. A prime example is Hippo T&C, a company specializing in digital therapeutics for diagnosing and treating ADHD and depression. They have partnered with psychiatry experts from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to conduct clinical trials with local patients in the U.S., and are planning to enter the U.S. market with their digital therapeutics.

 

Digital therapeutics, while still unfamiliar to many, are viewed by Tai-Myoung Chung, CEO of Hippo T&C, as the future of healthcare. Chung believes these technologies will offer significant benefits in psychiatry, where diagnosis and treatment can be particularly challenging. Having transitioned from a successful career as a software engineering professor to focus on digital therapeutics, Chung is committed to establishing a global presence for his company's innovations.

 

On the 1st of this month, Tai-Myoung Chung met with Dr. Hwang Soonjo and Dr. Howard Liu of UNMC in a Seoul office. Dr. Hwang was in Korea to review the results of last year’s clinical trials conducted in collaboration with Hippo T&C and to plan new projects. Dr. Liu, who was also visiting Korea at the time, joined the interview. Dr. Hwang proposed creating a "base camp" for the development and expansion of digital therapeutics. The discussion focused on how their collaboration is evolving and its potential for further expansion.

 

The partnership between a South Korean startup and an American university hospital demonstrates how international collaborations can enhance the development and deployment of digital therapeutics. By leveraging local expertise and clinical trial data, startups can effectively penetrate new markets and refine their products to meet regional needs. This model not only supports the global scaling of innovative health solutions but also fosters meaningful international partnerships.

 

Do you visit Seoul often?

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo, Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC): Yes, I have visited Seoul again this year following last year's visit. We have been collaborating with Hippo T&C on clinical trials. Last year, we worked together on a Virtual Reality Assessment to evaluate ADHD, involving 50 participants (25 patients and 25 controls). We are currently preparing a paper based on the results of this study, which could potentially serve as evidence for future FDA approval of the therapy.

 

Additionally, we plan to establish a Digital Therapeutics Center at UNMC, and this visit aims to further discuss collaboration with Hippo T&C regarding this initiative.

 

How did the collaboration between a South Korean digital therapeutics startup and an American university hospital come about?

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: Hippo T&C reached out to us first. They were very interested in entering the U.S. market and obtaining clinical data here was crucial for them. Consequently, we are setting up a clinical center at UNMC to support research, product development, and market entry in the U.S.

 

Tai-Myoung Chung, CEO of Hippo T&C: There is an organization called Unimed in the U.S. that supports research and development for companies, and we sought their support. We connected with Dr. Hwang through this process. The President of UNMC showed a keen interest in Korea and has actively supported our joint research. Additionally, Professor Jeon Hong-jin's team from Samsung Seoul Hospital has also shown interest in our research.

 

If things progress further, we could see a collaboration involving Hippo T&C, UNMC, and Samsung Seoul Hospital. This could open up various opportunities in the digital therapeutics market by combining the expertise of U.S. academic hospitals, Korean general hospitals, and startups.

 

What are the benefits for a startup developing digital therapeutics when collaborating with a U.S. university?

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: Such collaborations can provide a foothold for entering the U.S. market. Startups can leverage new product development resources and conduct clinical trials with American patients. They can also gain assistance with FDA approval processes and secure references for marketing their products in the U.S. The establishment of the clinical center at UNMC provides an additional opportunity for startups like Hippo T&C to engage in this process.

 

Tai-Myoung Chung: Besides support from Dr. Hwang and Dr. Howard Liu, the network we have in the U.S. has been very beneficial. This assistance significantly aids in entering the local market. Moving forward, we aim to expand this network so that other digital therapeutics companies can also benefit from similar support.

 

What benefits does a U.S. university gain from collaborating with a South Korean startup?

 

Dr. Howard Liu, Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC): At UNMC, we have a significant interest in international collaborations. Digital therapeutics represent cutting-edge technology in the U.S., and I am particularly interested in their application in psychiatry. Access to mental health care is a substantial issue in the U.S., and specialized fields like psychiatry face challenges in providing adequate care. Collaborations like this one play a crucial role in addressing these issues.

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: From the university’s perspective, we have previously invested heavily in collaborations with China. However, with the deteriorating U.S.-China relations, many of those partnerships have been disrupted. The opportunity to strengthen collaborations with Korean companies presents a valuable alternative for us.

 

Let’s talk about the clinical trials. How did the ADHD assessment tool trial go last year?

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: The goal was to assess ADHD symptoms through a virtual reality environment. While such tests are conducted in Korean hospitals, we wanted to see how American patients would respond, which is why we carried out the trial at UNMC.

 

Traditional clinical assessments have limitations, such as the short time doctors spend with patients and the detached nature of the clinical setting. For conditions like ADHD, which manifest in various real-life situations (e.g., at school or home), assessing these behaviors in a clinical environment can be challenging.

 

Virtual reality can replicate these real-life scenarios. For example, we can create a home-like environment in VR and ask patients to perform specific tasks, such as cleaning a virtual room. This approach allows us to gather various data points, including behavioral patterns, eye movements, and vocal characteristics, which help in understanding how symptoms present in real life.

 

Similarly, for treatment, VR can enhance the effectiveness of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional training beyond what is possible in a traditional office setting.

 

Having conducted these trials, did the digital therapeutics show effective results?

 

Tai-Myoung Chung, CEO of Hippo T&C: The U.S. healthcare system is costly. Even short training sessions can be expensive. Moreover, not all doctors provide high-quality care. While digital therapeutics may not surpass the best doctors, they can offer above-average training that is consistently good.

 

For ADHD assessments, the commonly used CPT test has about 70% accuracy. We believe our tool, although not yet officially published, achieves around 80% accuracy. This improved accuracy could make our digital therapeutics highly attractive in the U.S. diagnostic market.

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: To add, digital therapeutics provide objective data for evaluating and treating patients. When assessing an ADHD patient, subjective responses from parents (e.g., "How difficult is it?") are not quantifiable. Digital therapeutics generate numerical data, such as the time taken to complete a task, accuracy, and eye movements, which allows for objective evaluations.

 

Despite the unfamiliarity of digital therapeutics, there are doubts about their effectiveness. How do you address these concerns?

 

Tai-Myoung Chung, CEO of Hippo T&C: The reason I transitioned from a well-known career in information security to this field is because I believe in its future. Many healthcare systems, including hospitals, seem to neglect patients during the intervals between appointments. For example, if a doctor prescribes medication and schedules a follow-up three months later, the patient might feel neglected during that period. When the patient returns, the doctor spends only a few minutes discussing the medication's effects and might adjust the prescription based on that brief interaction. I believe this approach is flawed.

 

With digital therapeutics, we can continuously monitor patients even when they are at home and allow them to test whether they need to visit the hospital. In the future, digital therapeutics will provide significant benefits to both doctors and patients, improving the overall treatment experience.

 

How could the process and experience of diagnosis and treatment change with the widespread adoption of digital therapeutics?

 

Tai-Myoung Chung: First, patients will be able to self-assess their condition. Second, hospital services can be improved, reducing wait times and increasing accuracy while easing the burden on doctors. Third, patients can engage in self-treatment at home. Fourth, the results of these assessments will allow for biofeedback between patients and doctors.

 

Digital therapeutics seem to be gaining more attention in psychiatry. Why is that?

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: One major issue in psychiatry is the lack of objective measures. For physical conditions like anemia, we can diagnose based on blood tests showing hemoglobin levels. In psychiatry, quantifying behavioral or cognitive abilities is crucial. Additionally, traditional clinical environments have limitations. By using virtual reality to closely simulate real-life scenarios, we can obtain more objective measurements, which is a significant advantage.

 

I understand that UNMC has recently developed an adult psychiatric emergency service under the leadership of Dr. Howard Liu. Is this common in the U.S.?

 

Dr. Howard Liu, Chair of Psychiatry at UNMC: In general emergency departments, which often handle trauma or severe cases, the environment is not necessarily suited for psychiatric patients. Thus, we decided to create a dedicated psychiatric emergency facility. While having separate emergency services for psychiatry is relatively rare in the U.S., it is a necessary step to provide more appropriate care.

 

Is there potential for integrating digital therapeutics into psychiatric emergency services?

 

Dr. Howard Liu: Absolutely. Similar to Korea, the U.S. faces significant challenges with patient access to psychiatric care. Leveraging technology effectively can greatly aid in evaluating and treating patients in these settings.

 

How are Hippo T&C and the University of Nebraska Medical Center expanding their collaboration?

 

Tai-Myoung Chung: We have just announced a new project. Hippo T&C has commercialized a digital therapeutic for depression, and with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT, we aim to include bipolar disorder in this project.

 

However, my main focus is on expanding our collaboration with UNMC’s clinical center to undertake various projects. We plan to use this center as infrastructure for a range of joint projects, not limited to Korean initiatives but also including projects from organizations like the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). This will create a truly global strategy.

 

Dr. Hwang Soonjo: While Tai-Myoung Chung handles much of the funding from the Korean government, we will focus on networking with federal agencies such as NIMH and NSF. Our goal is to build a global base camp for the development and dissemination of digital therapeutics, connecting various experts and projects worldwide.

 

source :  (smilla@byline.network)  https://byline.network/2024/07/11-375/