OKYO-- May 06, 2022 -- CureApp, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kohta Satake) was notified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on April 26, 2022 that the company had received the medical device regulatory approval of an digital therapeutic app for Hypertension. This marks the first time a standalone software app supporting doctors and patients has received medical device regulatory approval in Japan, and is the first app addressing hypertension to be approved in the world. Preparations are now underway to receive reimbursement and launch the app in 2022.

Hypertension

Lifestyle modification is a vitally important part of treating essential hypertension, regardless of blood pressure classification. However, lifestyle modifications are dependent on the patient’s mindset and motivation, and workplace and home environment, and are difficult to maintain. Even with the involvement of a medical institution, successfully implementing such changes requires a significant amount of effort, and there are many limitations to what busy doctors can achieve.

Large numbers of patients suffer from hypertension in Japan, some 70% of these patients have either not achieved their anti-hypertensive goals, or have gone untreated. In addition, essential hypertension presents the single greatest risk factor of cerebrovascular diseases and heart diseases*1, and medical expenses related to hypertension continues to increase year after year*2.

*1: Source: Guidelines for the Management of Hypertension 2019
*2: FY2019 Ordinance of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare General Overview of National Medical Expenditure