Dawn Health and science and technology company Merck announce an expansion of their collaboration to deliver a digital ecosystem with a focus on connected care for rare tumor indications, adding to the current partnership’s support for growth disorders.
Rare tumors remain complex and often poorly understood, reflecting limited epidemiological data and few clinicians with specialized expertise. Although often described as non-malignant, they can be profoundly debilitating, causing chronic pain, functional loss, and disfigurement over a lifetime. Given how difficult the path to diagnosis can be and how small these patient populations are, awareness, specialized expertise, and support can belimited.
For people living with these rare conditions, this gap in support translates into some of the most complex care journeys in healthcare: coordinating across multiple specialists, managing ongoing monitoring, and processing significant amounts of information alongside their caregivers.
This expansion of the collaboration marks the first step in a patient-centered initiative to integrate a support model that combines the personal touch of dedicated support services with ongoing digital assistance for people living with rare tumors and their caregivers. It aims to help patients better understand their care, navigate day-to-day challenges, and know when to reach out to their healthcare team, bridging the gap between HCP visits. The initiative draws on Merck’s growing expertise in rare tumors and Dawn Health’s experience building regulated digital health solutions with leading pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
For Dawn Health, the expansion reflects a broader strategic focus on rare diseases and highly complex patient journeys.
“Expanding our work with Dawn Health gives us a deeper, more detailed understanding of each patient’s journey, helping us tailor practical support around them and apply learnings responsively across a population that’s too often overlooked. That’s where we want to lead: bringing the same disciplined, quality-driven approach we apply across our organization to how we help patients and their families navigate life alongside treatment,” said Berkan Aysan, Head of Rare Tumors Programs, Integrated Health & Medicines, Healthcare business sector of Merck.
“Our collaboration with Merck has already shown what’s possible when clinical expertise and digital product experience come together to support better patient experiences,” said Alexander Mandix Hansen, CEO of Dawn Health. “Extending that collaboration into rare tumors lets us bring a patient-centered approach to a population that deserves to feel more informed, more supported, and more engaged in their own care.”
Additional details will be shared by Dawn Health and Merck as the work progresses.
About Dawn Health
Dawn Health is a global leader in patient companion solutions for pharmaceutical companies.
Built on the Dawn Platform, organizations can launch and scale therapy companions, disease management solutions, patient support programs, and connected care ecosystems that extend support beyond the clinic.
The platform combines patient engagement, quality and compliance, real-world evidence capabilities, and AI-enabled experiences to help organizations accelerate digital health innovation.
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