Vivera Pharmaceuticals
Innovative Drug Dispensing Technology to Win Against the Opioid Crisis

In the late 1900s, large pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma falsely marketed their prescription opioids as non-addictive. As a result, healthcare professionals began to prescribe them at increasing rates, unintentionally triggering the beginning of the opioid crisis. Since its inception, over a million people have lost their lives to opioids.

It’s now common knowledge that opioids can be highly addictive and can lead to other serious consequences like dependence, overdose, and death, even when initially taken as prescribed for pain by a physician. Up to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them, and up to 12 percent of people using opioids for chronic pain develop an opioid use disorder. Yet, doctors write millions of prescriptions for opioid-based medications every year because, although they come with risks, they are effective and the most suitable treatment option in certain circumstances.

Vivera Plans to End Prescription Drug Abuse

Tackling the opioid crisis doesn’t mean physicians need to stop prescribing opioids altogether. Instead, we need to make it difficult to misuse them.

Paul Edalat, CEO of Vivera, pointed out that the child safety cap on the prescription bottle is the only safety feature implemented on prescription drugs. This feature does not inhibit older kids from accessing highly addictive or dangerous medications, nor does it do anything to prevent misuse, diversion, abuse, overdose, or death.

It is saddening to see so many lives wilting away because of an addiction that starts with a prescription to opioids and eventually leads to getting commercial or black-market drugs on the street,” said Mr. Edalat. “At Vivera, we are trying to change this by preventing unnecessary prescription fills and drug overdoses with ZICOH

After in-depth research, the Company developed the patented ZICOH^TM medical device, a dose-controlled, high-tech, electronic drug delivery system that will revolutionize how addictive, scheduled medications are prescribed, dispensed, and tracked.

The dose-controlled drug delivery solution is in its early developmental stage and will be designed to get smarter with each patient use. It will leverage unique software architecture and patented technology to allow end-to-end communication between the drug manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, physician, pharmacist, caregiver, and patient. The technology will keep these stakeholders in a secure closed-loop, helping them monitor prescriptions, measure the dose to be administered, and access patient data to prevent drug abuse.

“It is saddening to see so many lives wilting away because of an addiction that starts with a prescription to opioids and eventually leads to getting commercial or black-market drugs off the streets,” said Mr. Edalat. “At Vivera, we are trying to change this by preventing unnecessary prescription fills and drug overdoses with ZICOH.”

“What makes ZICOH unique is its intricate and elaborate data network and ecosystem that will allow healthcare professionals to customize the device and dispense the appropriate medication dosage,” said Mehdi Hatamian, Ph.D., Vivera’s Chief Scientific Advisor.

Every device will come with unique, pre-filled medication cartridges that pharmacists can refill by logging the patient’s specific dosing schedule through the ZICOH secure software application. The solution will address key aspects of drug administration, from alerting a patient to take medication at a scheduled time to measuring and controlling the dose. If a patient forgets or fails to take medicines at the scheduled time, providers will be able to modify the schedule remotely, if needed, and track usage. They will also be able to switch the device between two modes: a dose-controlled, secure mode (via fingerprint) for addictive drugs and a simple delivery system for unrestricted medicines.

The Future of ZICOH

The patented ZICOH medical device is being developed to handle different drug formats, including liquid, pills, and vapor, and comes secured with a fingerprint authentication system. The next version, ZICOH Plus, will integrate additional security features, such as facial recognition. The upcoming versions of ZICOH Plus will also support upgraded connectivity solutions that work without an app or a smartphone.

Vivera is set to produce the first version of ZICOH by the late summer of this year. It has two issued patents for its remarkable technology, with a third one pending. If you are looking for more information about ZICOH or want to stay updated with the device’s launch, please visit https://zicoh.com .