App for Substance Abuse Treatment Wins FDA Marketing Clearance

The FDA approved marketing of a prescription smartphone app to help patients with substance abuse issues. The app, reSET, from Pear Therapeutics, is the first approved mobile medical application for treatment of substance use disorder.

The app is designed for use in outpatient therapy for abuse of alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and stimulants. It is not intended for treatment of opioid dependence.

The app delivers cognitive behavior therapy that teaches skills for increasing abstinence. In clinical trials of a desktop-based version, it achieved better results than those experienced by patients who engaged in conventional face-to-face therapy alone.