Big Pharma Hands Out Fitbits to Collect Better Personal Data
- Smart Band-Aids hold promise to speed new drug development
- Nearly 300 trials use wearables to record walking and climbing
A Fitbit smartwatch.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Pharmaceutical companies are enlisting Fitbits and other gadgets strapped to patients’ wrists, chests and skin as a way to bring drugs to market faster.
What began as an aid for athletes and dieters to track their movements is quickly becoming a critical tool for medical researchers and drugmakers. By outfitting trial participants with wearables, companies are beginning to amass precise information and gather round-the-clock data in hopes of streamlining trials and better understanding whether a drug is working. Down the line, wearables also could help pharmaceutical makers prove to insurance companies that their treatments are effective, thus reducing health costs.