Bringing Pharma Closer to Patients: How Huma and Wheel Are Leading the Way

Patients today expect more than treatments—they want accessible care, meaningful education, and ongoing support. The new joint venture between Huma and Wheel is redefining how pharma companies connect with and care for patients. By combining Huma’s robust direct-to-patient (DTP) capabilities with Wheel’s expertise in virtual care delivery, this partnership offers a vertically integrated, end-to-end solution to meet evolving patient needs.

Pharma approaches patient engagement on two levels—brand-specific strategies that focus on individual therapies and their success, and “above-brand” strategies that support their entire portfolio or span multiple disease states. The Huma-Wheel joint venture strengthens both by enabling scalable solutions that improve patient outcomes for specific drugs while also tackling systemic care challenges to enhance therapeutic impact across entire categories.

At its core, this collaboration integrates Huma’s direct-to-patient (DTP) platform with Wheel’s vertically integrated care delivery services. This seamless solution surpasses existing offerings, which deliver disjointed solutions without any care delivery experience. 

By combining advanced clinical expertise with integrated technology, the Huma-Wheel partnership delivers a uniquely valuable solution addressing both clinical and engagement needs. This approach ensures patients receive timely, comprehensive, and seamless care while helping pharma improve therapy access, adherence, and overall impact. 

“Our platform brings life-changing healthcare directly to patients’ homes, making it easier for them to access the care they need without barriers,” – Wheel CEO, Michelle Davey.

Expanding Access to Care, Treatments, and Prescriptions

Equitable access remains a challenge in healthcare. For example, patients wait an average of 38 days for a primary care appointment. Huma and Wheel address this gap by integrating digital-first tools to engage patients sooner, regardless of their location. 

Through telehealth, remote monitoring, and personalized patient support, the platform enables patients to access care, education, and prescriptions from the comfort of their homes. This not only empowers patients but also unlocks digital patient engagement, fostering stronger, more personal relationships between pharma and the individuals they serve.

By delivering actionable insights via real-time data, the platform enhances transparency and improves outcomes at every stage of the patient journey.

Key Stat: In 2024, patients waited an average of 38 days for a primary care appointment, highlighting the urgent need for faster, digital-first solutions. (Becker’s, Merritt Hawkins)

Enhancing Adherence Through Personalized Monitoring

Adherence to treatment can be challenging, even for the most motivated patients. Life gets in the way, side effects can be discouraging, and sometimes, patients need reassurance that they’re on the right track. The Huma-Wheel platform steps in with a comprehensive suite of tools designed to make adherence easier and more personalized.

Key features such as automated reminders, virtual check-ins, and real-time health tracking help patients stay engaged with their care plans. With the integration of wearable devices, the platform can collect continuous, real-time data on patient activity, vital signs, and treatment adherence. For example, wearables can monitor medication schedules, track physical activity, or even detect physiological changes that might indicate side effects or health deterioration. This data is seamlessly integrated into the platform, allowing healthcare providers to identify adherence issues early and intervene before small problems escalate.

Additionally, the inclusion of vertically integrated home delivery pharmacies adds another layer of support. The platform tracks data on medication adherence, providing actionable insights for healthcare professionals and pharma companies alike. This allows for a proactive approach to adherence, enabling tailored interventions that address individual patient needs.

When adherence falters, patients have direct access to healthcare professionals for immediate guidance. This real-time intervention bridges gaps in care, ensuring patients stay on track. For pharma companies, these capabilities offer invaluable insights into patient behaviors, allowing them to refine treatment protocols, improve outcomes, and enhance the overall patient experience.

At its heart, this approach is about more than just adherence—it’s about empowering patients to take control of their health. By fostering trust and creating a seamless connection between patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, the platform ensures patients feel supported at every step of their journey.

“The ability to intervene in real-time when adherence falters is a game-changer for patients and pharma alike.” – Wheel, Clinical Leadership

Empowering Patients and Caregivers Through Education

Managing complex conditions can overwhelm patients. By providing education and resources, the platform enables them to confidently navigate their health journeys. Beyond the technology, U.S.-based nurses and coaches actively support patients, ensuring smooth onboarding, real-time monitoring, and timely intervention. Moreover, caregivers play a critical role in adherence and recovery.

The Huma-Wheel platform connects caregivers to the patient’s health data, equipping them with tools and insights to offer meaningful support. Nurse navigators play a critical role in this process by escalating patient issues to clinical teams when necessary and actively managing care between visits, ensuring timely interventions and continuity of care. 

This collaboration fosters stronger patient-caregiver relationships, amplifying their collective impact.

“Caregivers are often the unsung heroes in healthcare. By giving them better tools and insights, we’re amplifying their impact and improving outcomes for everyone involved.” – Dr. Mert Aral, CMO, Huma

Clinical Trials: Inclusion and Innovation

For many, clinical trials represent hope—an opportunity to contribute to the future of medicine while gaining access to potentially life-changing treatments. Yet, for too long, these opportunities have been limited by logistical hurdles like travel, time, and accessibility. Huma and Wheel are reimagining clinical trials by bringing them directly to patients.

Through wearable devices and intuitive mobile apps, patients can participate in studies without leaving their homes. Data flows seamlessly in real time, empowering researchers to gather insights faster and more efficiently. This approach doesn’t just save time and reduce costs; it opens the door for broader, more diverse participation, ensuring that trials represent the patients they aim to help.

For participants, the process feels less like a burden and more like an opportunity. It’s a system that respects patients’ time, values their contribution, and ensures their comfort, all while driving progress in medical research.

Key Stat: Many clinical trials fail due to poor recruitment and enrollment with nearly 86% of all trials failing to meet enrollment goals and 32% of Phase III trials failing because of recruitment-related issues. — NIH

Building a Future of Connected Care

The Huma-Wheel partnership exemplifies how innovation and compassion can uniquely change healthcare; they're setting new standards for patient engagement while supporting stakeholder goals for comprehensive care pathways and measurable outcomes.

From reimagining clinical trials to improving adherence, this collaboration redefines pharma’s role in patient care. By leveraging this partnership, companies are uniquely positioned as leaders in patient-centric innovation. They can now address systemic challenges, enhance patient engagement across portfolios, and deliver measurable outcomes that elevate their role in healthcare transformation. It’s about more than technology—it’s about creating a healthcare system where every patient feels seen, supported, and empowered.

As healthcare evolves, Huma and Wheel are building a future where care is personal, accessible, and impactful for all.

For more on how digital health is transforming care, explore these statistics on telehealth adoption and case studies on patient-centric care.