NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) today announced the launch of Hemocraft™, a modification of the popular video game Minecraft®, and the HemMobile® Striiv® Wearable, a custom wristband, to help people living with hemophilia better approach hemophilia education and activity tracking in the US. Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder in which the body is unable to properly create a blood clot, affecting 20,000 people in the US and an estimated 400,000 people worldwide.1,2
“These new digital innovations can be integrated into everyday routines to help empower people with hemophilia to learn about and track different aspects relevant to their disease so that they can have informed conversations with their health care providers,” said Dr. Kevin W. Williams, Chief Medical Officer, Pfizer Rare Disease. “Ongoing innovation, coupled with our research, and support programs, continue to allow Pfizer to positively impact patients’ lives and pioneer a new era in hemophilia—today, and in the future.”
Hemocraft and the HemMobile Striiv Wearable will be featured at the National Hemophilia Foundation’s 69th Annual Meeting in Chicago, the largest US gathering of hemophilia patients and caregivers, August 24-26, 2017.
Hemocraft™
Hemocraft was created in partnership with the Entrepreneurial Game Studio at Drexel University and representatives from the hemophilia community. This game aims to help younger individuals with hemophilia, 8-16 years of age, learn the importance of integrating treatment into their routine in an educational and fun gaming environment.
In Hemocraft, players go on a quest and interact with the village doctor–a fictional health care professional character–to learn how to stick to their treatment plan, stay prepared, and understand how treatment works. Throughout the game, players are challenged to monitor factor levels and self-infuse to help control bleeding, if needed. The downloadable modification is available via HEMOCRAFTQuest.com.
“We are excited to see fun and educational tools that help people with a bleeding disorder, but equally as important, their friends and family to better understand the concept of factor levels in being able to stay active, and stay in the game,” said Kate Nammacher, Senior Director of Education, National Hemophilia Foundation.
HemMobile® Striiv® Wearable
The HemMobile Striiv Wearable, the first wearable made for patients with hemophilia, offers an easy-to-use, comprehensive tool to track activity. The device, which can be worn on the wrist, has several useful features including tracking daily activity levels and monitoring heart rate to measure intensity. The wristband integrates with Pfizer’s existing HemMobile® app, which allows users to log bleeds and infusions, monitor their factor supply, and set appointment reminders. The data captured generate personalized reports to provide a user’s health care team with insights that can help guide the discussion between a physician and their patient.
The HemMobile Striiv Wearable is available at no charge to anyone diagnosed with hemophilia in the US, regardless of what treatment they use, and more information about ordering can be found at patients’ doctors’ offices or hemophilia treatment centers.
Pfizer has developed partnerships with a number of organizations–like Striiv and Drexel University–to provide programs and offerings that can help to make an impact, including the Pfizer Community Connections program, Pfizer Hemophilia Connect, and HemophiliaVillage.com. Patients should consult with their health care professional about which activities might be appropriate for them.
Pfizer Rare Disease
Rare disease includes some of the most serious of all illnesses and impacts millions of patients worldwide,3 representing an opportunity to apply our knowledge and expertise to help make a significant impact on addressing unmet medical needs. The Pfizer focus on rare disease builds on more than two decades of experience, a dedicated research unit focusing on rare disease, and a global portfolio of multiple medicines within a number of disease areas of focus, including hematology, neuroscience, and inherited metabolic disorders.3
Pfizer Rare Disease combines pioneering science and deep understanding of how diseases work with insights from innovative strategic collaborations with academic researchers, patients, and other companies to deliver transformative treatments and solutions. We innovate every day leveraging our global footprint to accelerate the development and delivery of groundbreaking medicines and the hope of cures.
Click here to learn more about our Rare Disease portfolio and how we empower patients, engage communities in our clinical development programs, and support programs that heighten disease.
About HemMobile® and the HemMobile® Striiv® Wearable
Launched in 2012 for iOS and Android devices, the HemMobile® app is ranked as the #1 hemophilia app in the Apple App Store and continues to be enhanced based on input and feedback from the hemophilia community. The app is free and available, without the custom wearable wristband, for download in the Google Play™ store and Apple App Store.
HemMobile 5.1 is the most recent app update specifically designed to work with the Striiv custom wearable, offering additional functionality for more accurate tracking and reporting to health care teams.
Disclaimer: Pfizer does not collect patient data through HemMobile or the wearable. Striiv only collects anonymous, raw data for steps, distance, activity minutes, acceleration levels, and calories through the wearable. This data is not shared with any outside third parties, including Pfizer. Users can choose to share data collected with their health care provider, or others, at their own discretion. Pfizer and Striiv do not have access to patient health records or other identifying information.
Working together for a healthier world®
At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer_News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.
About the Entrepreneurial Game Studio at Drexel University
The Entrepreneurial Game Studio (EGS) at Drexel is a game development studio and publisher focused on developing the next generation of leaders in the mobile game industry. The EGS’s mission is to become a factory for mobile game startups by providing a safe and encouraging environment for students to develop and commercialize their games. At the EGS, university students enjoy a supportive work environment to create their games and refine business strategies as they prepare to ship publicly.
Led by Dr. Frank Lee, who is well known for his work in transforming a skyscraper in Philadelphia into the “World’s Largest Architectural Video Game Display,” the EGS encourages people to see physical spaces differently–by turning them into games! The studio is also dedicated to teaching computer science through video game design. It has collaborated with a number of local K-12 STEM education programs to help promote interest and diversity in the field by building curiosity and excitement about gaming. To learn about the EGS, visit: egs.excite.drexel.edu.
About Striiv
Striiv, a recognized pioneer in custom health wearables, encourages behavior change and delivers data insights to healthcare companies. Striiv is dedicated to helping people improve their health by providing coaching through the wearable and returning valuable biometric data to providers, insurers, and physicians. From precision medicine to early detection of various disease states, Striiv utilizes its advanced sensor technology and algorithms to solve the most significant challenges facing healthcare today.
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| 1 |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hemophilia: Data and Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hemophilia/data.html. Accessed June 15, 2017. |
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| 2 |
World Federation of Hemophilia: Treatment. http://www.wfh.org/en/page.aspx?pid=642. Accessed June 15, 2017. |
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| 3 |
Pfizer Inc. Rare Disease. http://www.pfizer.com/health-and-wellness/health-topics/rare-diseases/areas-of-focus. Accessed June 15, 2017. |
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