MEDICE - The Health Family acquires Selfapy and becomes one of the leading providers of mental health therapies

The European market leader in the treatment of ADHD acquires Selfapy, one of the best-known German digital health pioneers for mental illnesses.

With the acquisition of Selfapy, the MEDICE Health Family is expanding its digital offering to include new digital health applications for people with mental illnesses. The acquisition of Selfapy is another important step for the MEDICE Health Family on its way from a pure pharmaceutical manufacturer to a provider of clinically validated multimodal health solutions combining pharmaceuticals, digital solutions and nutritional concepts.

The member of the MEDICE Health Family Medigital is leading the integration into the existing MEDICE portfolio, with its digital solutions specifically complementing pharmacological interventions and thus opening new treatment options for healthcare professionals and patients.

‘We want to take even more comprehensive care of patients while also keeping an eye on current challenges in the healthcare system. This is why we have been expanding our strong core in the pharmaceutical business for several years to include developments in the field of digital healthcare solutions,’ says Dr Katja Pütter-Ammer, Managing Partner of MEDICE, explaining the strategy of the family-run company. ‘For us it is not only important what happens during the therapy sessions, it is just as important that we also provide the best possible support to doctors, therapists and patients in the time between and before the start of therapy,’ adds Dr Richard Ammer, who runs the family business together with his wife Katja Pütter-Ammer.

Digital health applications (DiGA) mark a milestone in the digital transformation of the healthcare system. They offer individualised therapies that are available at any time, help to reduce gaps in care and strengthen patient sovereignty - regardless of location and time. Since their introduction, digital health applications have established themselves in patient care in many places, both nationally and internationally. After initial scepticism, acceptance among healthcare professionals and patients has now increased significantly. Digital health applications are becoming increasingly important, especially for mental health indications. DiGA offer a promising approach for these clinical areas in particular by providing digital support for treatment. Various psychotherapy approaches, such as elements of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based therapy approaches or behavioural training, can be perfectly integrated into the existing range of therapies with the DiGA.

‘Selfapy already accounts for 20% of all permanently listed DiGA in the mental health sector. By joining forces with MEDICE and its strong ties to doctors and psychotherapists, we can now work even more specifically to realise our vision that no one with a mental illness should have to wait for help. Together, we want to take digital care to a new level and reach even more people faster and more effectively,’ says Selfapy Managing Director and CEO Adham Kassab.

Selfapy, which was founded in 2016 by Nora Blum, Katrin Bermbach and Farina Schurzfeld, fits perfectly into the MEDICE Health Family's strategy of addressing not only the needs of doctors and therapists, but also those of patients with digital interventions.

Selfapy's CE-certified medical products offer flexible and quickly accessible online therapy programmes for people with mental illnesses such as depression, generalised anxiety disorder, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and chronic pain. The online therapy programmes are available as an app on a smartphone or tablet and can be prescribed by doctors or psychotherapists - the costs are covered by all statutory health insurance companies in Germany. The programmes developed by clinical psychologists offer efficient, guideline-based and non-drug therapy with proven effectiveness.

Mental illness in adults is playing an increasingly important role in health policy.

‘Sick days in companies are increasing by more than 20% every year due to burn-out, depression or anxiety disorders, according to health insurance companies. We want to use Selfapy's expertise to offer effective solutions for this area,’ emphasises Dr Felix Lambrecht, Managing Director of Medigital, who is responsible for MEDICE's integrated approach.

The number of diagnoses in the field of paediatrics and adolescent medicine is even higher after the pandemic. ‘MEDICE has already submitted products for approval for children and adolescents with ADHD through its own subsidiary Medigital,’ says Lambrecht.