AppliedVR

Los Angeles-based AppliedVR is a digital therapeutic company using virtual reality (VR) as a method of managing chronic pain and anxiety. The company claims that clinical research has shown that diverting a patient’s attention through constructed environments can be an effective tool for reducing pain-related activity in all five regions associated with pain in a person’s brain. AppliedVR’s virtual reality platform uses goggles and headsets to create virtual worlds that can help patients alleviate pain and anxiety in a hospital setting. 

The company is developing five US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated products for 1) chronic pain management (RelieVRx - formerly EaseVRx), 2) acute postoperative pain management, 3) fibromyalgia (a chronic condition that causes widespread pain around the body), 4) generalized anxiety including cancer-related anxiety, and 5) general pain and anxiety management such as rheumatoid arthritis. In October 2020, the company’s RelieVRx product was the first VR-based prescription therapeutic treatment to receive the FDA Breakthrough Device Designation. Nearly a year later, AppliedVR received De Novo FDA approval for RelieVRx in November 2021, designated as a virtual reality prescription therapy. The program provides 56 VR-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions over 8 weeks for patients diagnosed with chronic lower back pain. Though RelieVRx is only approved for chronic lower back pain, the company wants to expand into other clinical areas, including, osteoarthritis, endometriosis, anxiety, and depression.

The company has served more than 60,000 patients in nearly 200 hospitals as of November 2021, including collaborations with the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger, Hospital for Special Surgery, INOVA Health System, and the University of California San Francisco. In November 2021, AppliedVR concluded a Series B funding round of USD 36 million to accelerate its De Novo US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process of EaseVRx. The funds are also to be used to complete additional pilot programs with insurance providers, expand its pipeline, conduct more clinical research, and develop its VR pharmacy platform.