Cloud-based direct-to-patient platform ixlayer launched a platform designed to help patients find care and treatment for acute pain.
The platform—dubbed Informed Pain Care—allows patients to connect virtually with licensed clinicians. It also provides symptom-based intake, eligibility screenings and, when appropriate, access to prescription treatment options, including non-opioid options, and pharmacy fulfillment. Informed Care offers both insurance and self-pay pathways, the company said.
The platform was built in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a biopharma company that launched the non-opioid pain reliever, Journavx, in early 2025. That medication is approved for treating moderate-to-severe acute pain.
The platform aims to make acute pain care “more accessible, simpler, and more patient-friendly,” ixlayer CEO and co-founder Pouria Sanae told Fierce Healthcare. Sanae said the current care journey for acute pain “can be very fragmented.”
“The goal of the Informed Pain Care platform is to help close that gap by giving the patient a direct digital pathway to connect with licensed independent healthcare professionals,” Sanae said. “Where a healthcare professional can evaluate them, and if it's appropriate, they can get the treatment [and] see these healthcare professionals on the same day.”
Licensed clinicians are independent and are not incentivized to prescribe any specific medications, according to Sanae.
“Their responsibilities are really to evaluate the patient, follow clinical protocol and make independent medical decisions based on whatever they deem to be appropriate,” he said.
“We are proud to have partnered with ixlayer to build and launch our first direct-to-patient telehealth platform, Informed Pain Care,” said Duncan McKechnie, Vertex Pharmaceuticals executive vice president and chief commercial officer, in a statement. “This platform provides independent telehealth evaluations for eligible nonsurgical acute pain patients, reflecting our commitment to ensuring access to innovative non-opioid medicines.”
Sanae said the two companies have a “shared goal” of improving access and simplifying patient journeys.
“Our role is to provide a technology infrastructure that makes the journey simpler and increases the pathway of least resistance for the patients,” Sanae said. “…Vertex brings the patient education upstream [and] outreach, so that they can not just educate the patient but also provide different care path options for the patient in this process.”