Pear Therapeutics (Nasdaq:PEAR) today announced data from two studies that highlight the effectiveness of its chronic insomnia treatment.
Boston-based Pear Therapeutics designed its Somryst prescription digital therapeutic (PDT) to address the underlying issues of chronic insomnia by delivering cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi), training the body to sleep. The nine-week PDT can be used on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet as the only FDA-authorized therapeutic that delivers guideline-recommended first-line treatment for chronic insomnia.
According to a news release, results from the two studies were presented at World Sleep 2022, the International Congress of World Sleep Society, on March 15 in Rome.
“Today, many people face barriers to accessing care so the opportunity to provide patients with 24/7 virtual access to proven treatment options is more important than ever,” Pear Therapeutics CMO and Head of Development Dr. Yuri Maricich said in the release. “It’s critical to examine the impact of prescription digital therapeutics among people with chronic insomnia, particularly given the toll lack of sleep can take on day-to-day activities and overall quality of life, including leading to depression, suicidality, hypertension and even heart attacks.”
Interim data from the DREAM study found that, in 779 patients who completed end-of-treatment, the population achieved statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in insomnia severity, sleep onset latency and wake-after-sleep onset from baseline to post-treatment at nine weeks.
Among the 193 patients who completed the six-month follow-up, significant improvements in all three of those categories were maintained.
In an additional study evaluating older adults (55 years old and above) with chronic insomnia, patients used an earlier version of Somryst that was tailored for older adults. Most participants were female (68.5%) at an average age of 66.3 years old with 13.5 years of sleep difficulties.
The majority (85%) of the 311 older adults with insomnia completed all six treatment cores in the study, achieving significant reductions in insomnia severity, with similar patterns in sleep onset latency and wake-after-sleep onset, along with sleep efficiency and sleep quality.
“These results provide strong evidence that older adults living with insomnia both use and obtain significant benefits from an interactive, remote program to treat their chronic insomnia, without needing special assistance,” University of Virginia School of Medicine Professor and Director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Technology Lee Ritterband said. “These results demonstrate the value of remote interventions for chronic insomnia for older adults living with insomnia who may not otherwise have access to clinically validated treatment options like CBTi.”
