Battling addiction requires a lot of support from loved ones, mental and physical healthcare professionals and communities. The need for support and lack of access to it the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic lead to an 18 percent increase in drug and alcohol overdoses, according to the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program. Cut off from others, many struggling with substance use disorder (SUDs) suddenly didn’t have the support they needed to stay sober.
As telehealth continues to evolve, more people than ever before are finding the support they need to stay sober with the help of remote care options. One company developing a mobile health platform for remote management of SUDs is Evon Medics, which on Monday announced it received $2.8 million for its Small Business Innovation Research Fast-Track study. Sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the study will help Evon Medics develop and evaluate its upcoming platform.
One of the barriers many struggling with SUDs face is access to intervention and care. During the height of the pandemic, this was particularly high, especially for communities that traditionally already lack access to digital communication. That’s something Evon Medics hopes to solve.
“While digital therapeutics and mobile health platforms provide avenues for remote management, our solution addresses the needs of communities of socially disadvantaged populations that lag in adoption of mobile platforms, due to inability to read, digital illiteracy, lack of access to smartphones, absence of reliable Wi-Fi or internet and financial constraints,” Evon Medics’ COO Charles Nwaokobia said in a statement. “This solution also addresses the need for interventions for the management of cocaine and other stimulant use disorders that currently have no effective therapeutics.”
The recent non-dilutive funding adds to Evon Medics’ total funding since 2018. The company hopes to reach over $10 million by the end of the year. Evon Medics has already been successful in developing therapeutics and devices for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, Opioid Use Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, chronic pain, Treatment Refractory Depression and other treatment-resistant conditions.
