Almost 20 percent of people in the European Union are over the age of 65 – and this figure is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. As a result, more people are living with health conditions that restrict their ability to walk or move without pain. This limits their freedom to perform day-to-day tasks and can reduce quality of life, while also generating high costs for healthcare systems. That’s why Grünenthal is participating in the MOBILISE-D project, which brings together scientists from across industry and academia to explore how digital technology can revolutionise the way patients’ mobility is assessed.

MOBILISE-D is funded by the European Union’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and coordinated by Newcastle University in the UK. Following a kick-off event on 11 April 2019, representatives from 34 leading universities and companies from the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) are now collaborating to develop, validate and qualify innovative approaches for assessing mobility. Examples include small sensors worn on the body: Data from the sensors could be processed using personalised algorithms to generate assessments while the patient is in their typical life situation, without the need to travel to a clinic.

Mobility is often referred to as the ‘sixth vital sign’ because painful or slow walking is associated with earlier death, greater risk of disease, cognitive decline, dementia and increased risk of falling. By taking advantage of modern technology, the project aims to improve the way patients’ mobility loss is predicted, detected and measured – to accelerate and optimise the development of new drugs and treatments. The MOBILISE-D team is specifically targeting clinical outcomes for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, proximal femoral fracture recovery and congestive heart failure.

Grünenthal’s experts are actively engaging in MOBILISE-D to explore and develop robust digital mobility assessments in order to transfer the validated objective measures to prio pain indications with mobility impairment. As a leader in pain, we’re strongly aware that empowering patients to perform everyday tasks without pain is a key factor in any successful treatment. Together with the other participants, we aim to develop more effective clinical trials with more sensitive and objective endpoints – and develop medicines that improve quality of life for patients in pain.

Want to find out more? Please visit: Our Pain Solve Community or the project website: http://www.mobilise-d.eu or the project twitter stream: https://twitter.com/Mobilise_D