Orexo and Lyfebulb Announce Call for Digital Solutions to Treat Substance Use Disorder

- Winning Entry to Receive USD 25,000 Grant

UPPSALA, Sweden, June 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Orexo, a Swedish pharmaceutical company focused on improved pharmaceuticals and digital therapies, and Lyfebulb, a patient empowerment platform, announced that the Lyfebulb-Orexo Innovation Challenge: Digital Therapeutics for Substance Use Disorder is now accepting applications. The goal of the initiative is to seek novel digital solutions, in early stages of development, to address unmet needs in supporting successful, long-term recovery from alcohol and opioid use disorders.

The Innovation Challenge will take place in October 2020 and will be open to Patient Entrepreneurs-those who have been directly affected by a substance use disorder him/herself, or as a support partner for a loved one. Selected finalists will receive an invitation to pitch their digital solutions, virtually, to an expert panel of judges comprised of healthcare industry, medical and patient leaders. Competing finalists will be considered for possible partnerships with Orexo or for investment. The winner will be awarded a USD 25,000 monetary grant.

"The complex and intimate journey each person undergoes along the road to recovery for alcohol misuse or opioid addiction lends itself well for the patient and his/her care partners to become mentors or even innovators." said Dr. Karin Hehenberger, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb. "Patient Entrepreneurs experience firsthand the gaps in existing treatments and are solving for better solutions to address those unmet needs. One cannot underestimate the role personal connections have in this space; to scale this approach and provide 24/7 support no matter where the people reside, digital technologies are critical tools for lasting solutions."

"The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled the growth of the already increasing and prominent substance abuse patient group globally. This development is expected to continue over years to come, as the result of isolation and economic downturn. To fully address these developments, it is pivotal to understand the unmet needs of the patients on their road to recovery. Nobody can do this better than patients themselves and their care partners." said Mikaela Odlander, Director of Digital Therapeutics at Orexo. "This innovation challenge will support Orexo DTx in our continuous strides towards combatting substance use disorder through the use of digital therapeutics."

Patient entrepreneurs may apply now through Friday, July 31, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. EDT at https://lyfebulb.com/innovation-award/orexo-2020. The competition is free to enter. Official eligibility criteria, and terms and conditions can be found on the Lyfebulb website.

About Digital Therapeutics

Digital therapeutics (DTx) deliver evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients that are driven by high quality software programs to prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease. Digital therapeutics are used independently or in concert with medications, devices, or other therapies to optimize patient care and health outcomes. (As defined by Digital Therapeutics Alliance)

About Orexo DTx

Orexo DTx is the digital health arm of Orexo AB, a pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes improved pharmaceuticals and digital therapies. The company addresses unmet needs mainly within the growing space of addiction. Orexo DTx was created in Q4 of 2019 and currently has three products in the pipeline, vorvida® for alcohol misuse, deprexis® for depression, and OXD01 for opioid use disorder, all in partnership with the GAIA group.

Orexo DTx's mission is to redefine treatment of addiction by offering clinically validated digital therapeutics to ensure more successful treatment for patients and cost-effective solutions for payers. The digital products will be commercialized by Orexo DTx worldwide, with the U.S. as the principal market, where Orexo also commercializes its lead product Zubsolv® (buprenorphine and naloxone) sublingual tablets (CIII) for treatment of opioid use disorder.

Orexo is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Mid Cap (ORX) and is available as ADRs on OTCQX (ORXOY) in the U.S. The company is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, where research and development activities are performed. For more information about Orexo please visit, https://orexo.com/start/. You can also follow Orexo on Twitter, @orexoabpubl, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About Lyfebulb

Lyfebulb is a chronic disease-focused patient empowerment platform that connects patients and industry to support user-driven innovation. Grounded with its strong foundation in diabetes, the company has expanded disease states covered into cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, mental health, migraine and transplantation.

See www.lyfebulb.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Lyfebulb LinkedIn, and Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn. 

For more information:

Orexo Contact:
Mikaela Odlander
Director of Digital Therapeutics
Phone: + 46-187808802
Email: Mikaela.odlander@orexo.com

Lyfebulb Media Contact:
Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD
CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb
Phone: +1-917-575-0210
Email: karin@lyfebulb.com

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