Pear Therapeutics Announces First State Medicaid Program Decision to Cover Prescription Digital Therapeutics

• MassHealth intends to provide access to reSET® and reSET-O®, giving all Massachusetts Medicaid patients access to innovative FDA-authorized addiction treatments via their mobile devices

• Pear’s prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs), reSET and reSET-O, for substance and opioid use disorder offer anywhere and anytime therapeutic support, and come at a critical time as the addiction crisis is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pear Therapeutics, Inc. today announced MassHealth, Massachusetts’ Medicaid program, has notified Pear of its intent to cover Pear’s prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) reSET® and reSET-O® to fight the growing substance and opioid addiction crisis. Pear’s products reSET and reSET-O are the first and only FDA-authorized PDTs for the treatment of substance use disorder and opioid use disorder, respectively.

“We applaud MassHealth for their leadership in introducing PDTs to their Medicaid population to provide safe and effective treatment options for patients in recovery,” said Corey McCann, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Pear Therapeutics. “Pear is proud to help fight addiction in Massachusetts, especially at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the addiction crisis in America with national drug overdose deaths increasing by almost 30% in 2020.”

The decision by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services to provide coverage for reSET and reSET-O is subject to certain customary conditions, including federal and state approvals and availability of sufficient state and federal funding.

MassHealth has approximately two million Massachusetts residents enrolled.

PDTs are a new therapeutic class that use software to treat serious disease. Like traditional medicines, PDTs are developed in a GMP-compliant environment, tested in randomized controlled trials to demonstrate safety and effectiveness, evaluated for authorization by regulators like FDA, and used under the supervision of a prescribing clinician^1,2. Unlike traditional medicines, PDTs are designed to collect real world data for use by prescribing clinicians and for population health management by payors and health systems.

reSET and reSET-O have been measured in real-world use and their therapeutic content studied in randomized controlled trials, with results published in peer-reviewed medical journals^1,2. Pear recently released publications showing the potential for improved real-world health outcomes and decreased treatment costs for patients using reSET-O^3-10. Both products, which are adjunctive to outpatient counselling, provide patients with cognitive behavioral therapy, fluency training, and contingency management, while clinicians receive access to clinical dashboards to inform in-office and tele visits.

reSET Important Safety Information

Indications for Use:

reSET is intended to provide cognitive behavioral therapy, as an adjunct to a contingency management system, for patients 18 years of age and older, who are currently enrolled in outpatient treatment under the supervision of a clinician. reSET is indicated as a 12-week (90 day) prescription-only treatment for patients with substance use disorder (SUD), who are not currently on opioid replacement therapy, who do not abuse alcohol solely, or who do not abuse opioids as their primary substance of abuse.

It is intended to:

• increase abstinence from a patient’s substances of abuse during treatment, and
• increase retention in the outpatient treatment program.

Important Safety Information for Clinicians:

Warnings: reSET is intended for patients whose primary language is English with a reading level of 7^th grade or above, and who have access to an Android/iOS tablet or smartphone. reSET is intended only for patients who own a smartphone and are familiar with use of smartphone apps (applications).

Clinicians should not use reSET to communicate with their patients about emergency medical issues. Patients should be clearly instructed not to use reSET to communicate to their clinician any urgent or emergent information. In case of an emergency, patients should dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

reSET is not intended to be used as a stand-alone therapy for substance use disorder (SUD). reSET does not replace care by a licensed medical practitioner and is not intended to reduce the amount of face-to-face clinician time. reSET does not represent a substitution for a patient’s medication. Patients should continue to take their medications as directed by their healthcare provider.

Patients with substance use disorder experience mental health disease and co-morbid medical problems at higher rates than the general population. Patients with substance use disorder also have higher baseline rates of suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, and suicide completion. Clinicians should engage in their normal care practices to monitor patients for medical problems and mental health disorders, including risk for harming others and/or themselves.

The long-term benefit of treatment with reSET on abstinence has not been evaluated in studies lasting beyond 12 weeks (90 days) in the SUD population. The ability of reSET to prevent potential relapse after treatment discontinuation has not been studied.

The effectiveness of reSET has not been demonstrated in patients currently reporting opioids as their primary substance of abuse.

This Press Release does not include all the information needed to use reSET safely and effectively. Please see the Clinician Brief Summary for reSET for more information.

reSET-O Important Safety Information

Indications for Use:

reSET-O prescription digital therapeutic is a 12-week (84 day) software application intended to increase retention of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) in outpatient treatment by providing cognitive behavioral therapy, as an adjunct to outpatient treatment that includes transmucosal buprenorphine and contingency management, for patients 18 years or older who are currently under the supervision of a clinician. reSET-O is indicated as a prescription-only digital therapeutic.

Important Safety Information for Clinicians:

Warnings: reSET-O is intended for patients whose primary language is English with a reading level of 7^th grade or above, and who have access to an Android/iOS tablet or smartphone. reSET-O is intended only for patients who own a smartphone and are familiar with use of smartphone apps (applications).

Clinicians should not use reSET-O to communicate with their patients about emergency medical issues. Patients should be clearly instructed not to use reSET-O to communicate to their clinician any urgent or emergent information. In case of an emergency, patients should dial 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

reSET-O is not intended to be used as a stand-alone therapy for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). reSET-O does not replace care by a licensed medical practitioner and is not intended to reduce the frequency or duration of in-person therapy. reSET-O does not represent a substitution for a patient’s medication. Patients should continue to take their medications as directed by their healthcare provider.

Patients with opioid use disorder experience mental health disease and co-morbid medical problems at higher rates than the general population. Patients with opioid use disorder have higher baseline rates of suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts, and suicide completion. Clinicians should undertake standard of care to monitor patients for medical problems and mental health disease, including risk for harming others and/or themselves.

The long-term benefit of reSET-O has not been evaluated in studies lasting beyond 12 weeks (84 days) in the OUD population. The ability of reSET-O to prevent potential relapse after therapy discontinuation has not been studied.

This Press Release does not include all the information needed to use reSET-O safely and effectively. Please see the Clinician Brief Summary Instructions for reSET-O for more information.

About Pear Therapeutics

Pear Therapeutics is the leader in prescription digital therapeutics, or PDTs. Pear aims to redefine medicine by discovering, developing, and delivering clinically validated software-based therapeutics to provide better outcomes for patients, smarter engagement and tracking tools for clinicians, and cost-effective solutions for payers. Pear has a pipeline of products and product candidates across therapeutic areas, including the first three PDTs with disease treatment claims from FDA. Pear’s lead product, reSET®, for the treatment of substance use disorder, was the first PDT to receive marketing authorization from FDA to treat disease. Pear’s second product, reSET-O®, for the treatment of opioid use disorder, was the first PDT to receive Breakthrough Designation. Pear’s third product, Somryst® for the treatment of chronic insomnia, was the first PDT submitted through FDA’s traditional 510(k) pathway while simultaneously reviewed through FDA’s Software Precertification Pilot Program. For more information, visit Pear at www.peartherapeutics.com.

References:

1. Campbell ANC, Nunes EV, Matthews AG, et al. Internet-delivered treatment for substance abuse: a multisite randomized controlled trial. Am J Psychiatry. 2014;171(6):683-690.
2. Christensen DR, Landes RD, Jackson L, et al. Adding an Internet-delivered treatment to an efficacious treatment package for opioid dependence. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2014;82(6):964-972. doi:10.1037/a0037496.
3. Yuri A. Maricich, MD, Xiaorui Xiong, PhD, Robert Gerwien, PhD, Alice Kuo, BA Fulton Velez, MD MBA, Bruce Imbert, MD PhD, Keely Boyer, MBA, Hilary F. Luderer, PhD, Stephen Braun, BA, Karren Williams, PhD (2020): Real-World evidence for a prescription digital therapeutic to treat Opioid Use Disorder, Journal of Current Medical Research and Opinion, DOI:10.1080/03007995.2020.1846023.
4. Fulton F. Velez , Sam Colman , Laura Kauffman , Charles Ruetsch & Kathryn Anastassopoulos (2020): Real-world reduction in healthcare resource utilization following treatment of opioid use disorder with reSET-O, a novel prescription digital therapeutic, Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2021.1840357
5. Weijia Wang, Nicole Gellings Lowe, Ali Jalali & Sean M. Murphy (2021) Economic modeling of reSET-O, a prescription digital therapeutic for patients with opioid use disorder, Journal of Medical Economics, 24:1, 61-68, DOI: 10.1080/13696998.2020.1858581
6. Yuri A. Maricich, Warren K. Bickel, Lisa A. Marsch, Kirstin Gatchalian, Jeffrey Botbyl & Hilary F. Luderer (2020) Safety and efficacy of a prescription digital therapeutic as an adjunct to buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder, Current Medical Research and Opinion, DOI: 10.1080/03007995.2020.1846022
7. Fulton F. Velez, Hilary F. Luderer, Robert Gerwien, Benjamin Parcher, Dylan Mezzio & Daniel C. Malone (2021) Evaluation of the cost-utility of a prescription digital therapeutic for the treatment of opioid use disorder, Postgraduate Medicine, DOI: 10.1080/00325481.2021.1884471
8. Fulton F. Velez, Charles Ruetsch & Yuri Maricich (2021) Evidence of long-term real-world reduction in healthcare resource utilization following treatment of opioid use disorder with reSET-O, a novel prescription digital therapeutic, Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2021.193968
9. Fulton F. Velez & Daniel C. Malone (2021) Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of a Prescription Digital Therapeutic for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder, Journal of Market Access & Health Policy, 9:1, DOI: 10.1080/20016689.2021.1966187
10. Yuri A. Maricich, Robert Gerwien, Alice Kuo, Daniel C. Malone & Fulton F. Velez (2021) Real-world use and clinical outcomes after 24 weeks of treatment with a prescription digital therapeutic for opioid use disorder, Hospital Practice, DOI: 10.1080/21548331.2021.1974243