PRINCETON, N.J. & SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (Otsuka), a global pharmaceutical company, announces the launch of My Mental Health Journey, a longitudinal registry study that aims to advance research in depression and mental health. Verily Life Sciences LLC (Verily), a precision health technology company, will recruit participants and run the study.
The My Mental Health Journey registry will enroll U.S.-based adults experiencing symptoms of depression to help Otsuka better understand mental health conditions, such as major depressive disorder, across time and in the real-world setting. Adults over the age of 18 will participate in this observational study by securely sharing their unique depression journeys through periodic, self-guided assessments and digital data collection. In addition to contributing to mental health and depression research, participants will gain access to the latest information on depression and other mental health related topics, and have a more streamlined path to participate in future clinical research studies.
“Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with more than one in six U.S. adults reporting they are depressed or receiving treatment for depression,” said John Kraus, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer at Otsuka. “Our work with Verily will enable us to improve our understanding of how people with depressive disorders receive care, ultimately informing specific treatments that can support patients earlier in their mental health journeys.”
My Mental Health Journey employs Verily Viewpoint, an end-to-end suite of solutions that powers evidence generation. This includes Verily’s recruitment services and its longitudinal registry and multi-modal data platform. The registry was designed with participant experience at the forefront, drawing on best-in-class user experience, technology, and clinical expertise to understand the patient journey and engage diverse populations. Insights generated from the registry will be used by Otsuka to power future research, informing areas such as trial design, site selection, and health outcomes research.
“We are excited to help usher in the age of precision for mental health care by leveraging multimodal data to give a more complete picture of a person’s individual journey through treatment,” said Andrew Trister, MD, PhD, chief medical and scientific officer at Verily. “Our work with Otsuka offers the promise to accelerate the development and delivery of innovative treatments for depression to serve the millions of patients in need of safe, effective, and accessible care.”
Otsuka has worked with Verily since 2019 to apply novel clinical trial solutions across its product portfolio. As Otsuka and Verily expand the registry, they plan to integrate additional data sources with participant consent, launch additional cohorts and sub-studies, and develop novel digital biomarkers to further research.
Now Enrolling Eligible Participants
Want to join virtual depression research? My Mental Health Journey is now enrolling participants in the U.S. If you or a loved one knows someone battling depression symptoms that would be interested in joining, please click [here] to check eligibility and gain more information on the program. Participants in the My Mental Health Journey may receive compensation for study activities, educational resources, updates on future clinical studies, and other opportunities to help advance depression research.
About Verily
Verily Life Sciences LLC is an Alphabet health technology company focused on research, care, and health financing to deliver on the promise of precision health and help people live healthier lives. We are uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology, data science, and healthcare to create tools to accelerate evidence generation, products to enable more personalized care, and approaches to make costs more predictable. For more information, please visit: verily.com.
About Otsuka
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: Otsuka–people creating new products for better health worldwide. Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures, and markets innovative products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products to meet unmet medical needs and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.
In pharmaceuticals, Otsuka is a leader in the challenging areas of mental, renal, and cardiovascular health and has additional research programs in oncology and on several under-addressed diseases including tuberculosis, a significant global public health issue. These commitments illustrate how Otsuka is a “big venture” company at heart, applying a youthful spirit of creativity in everything it does.
Otsuka established a presence in the U.S. in 1973 and today its U.S. affiliates include Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (OPDC) and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI). These two companies’ 2,000 employees in the U.S. develop and commercialize medicines in the areas of mental health and nephrology, using cutting-edge technology to address unmet healthcare needs.
OPDC and OAPI are indirect subsidiaries of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd. headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The Otsuka group of companies employed 34,400 people worldwide and had consolidated sales of approximately USD 14.2 billion in 2023.
All Otsuka stories start by taking the road less traveled. Learn more about Otsuka in the U.S. at www.otsuka-us.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter at @OtsukaUS. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.’s global website is accessible at https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/.
