Pear Therapeutics Inc’s Somryst, the first prescription digital therapeutic (PDT) intended for use in the treatment of patients 22 years of age and older with chronic insomnia, is now available for patient use.

Somryst delivers cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), an evidence-based approach that trains the brain and body to sleep, digitally. Somryst is promoted via a fully virtual experience, combining telemedicine visit(s) and prescribing and dispensation via PearConnect.

Somryst is a digital treatment that has been shown to improve the symptoms of chronic insomnia. Over 6 to 9 weeks, depending on a patient’s pace, the program takes them through short lessons and challenges, including algorithm-driven sleep restriction, to train the brain and body to improve their sleep, while also providing clinicians with real-time data on patient progress via physician dashboard. In clinical studies of more than 1,400 adults with chronic insomnia, the PDT reduced the amount of time it took to fall asleep by 45%, reduced the amount of time spent awake at night by 52% and reduced the severity of insomnia symptoms by 45%, with continued improvement at 6 and 12 months post treatment. Results from clinical studies have been published in JAMA Psychiatry and Lancet Psychiatry.

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“Despite CBT-I being the recommended first line treatment for chronic insomnia, there aren’t enough clinicians who are trained to deliver CBT-I therapy. With the availability of Somryst, millions of Americans suffering from chronic insomnia now have access to this treatment,” says Michelle Primeau, MD, medical director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Sleep Medicine Center in San Carlos, Calif, in a release. “Somryst has been shown to address the underlying issues of chronic insomnia by training the brain and body to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Unlike sleep medications, which may represent short- term solutions and can have unwanted side-effects, Somryst has been shown to deliver long-term results.”

Via PearConnect, people with insomnia symptoms can obtain access to a doctor who will perform an evaluation and determine whether an individual is a candidate for Somryst. If an individual receives a prescription, a case worker from PearConnect’s patient service center will support the individual on how to download Somryst and get started. Telemedicine allows individuals suffering from chronic insomnia to get started on Somryst without leaving their home.

“We’re excited to offer patients who have been struggling to find a long-term solution for chronic insomnia with a meaningful, first-line treatment that is accessible via an end-to-end care model, to support patients and healthcare providers during the virtual onboarding process,” says Corey McCann, president and CEO of Pear Therapeutics, in a release. “The availability of Somryst demonstrates our ongoing commitment to developing PDTs to deliver easily-accessible treatment options to patients for their chronic conditions, important now, more than ever as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.”