NEW YORK, SÃO PAULO and BUENOS AIRES, April 27, 2023 – Eurofarma, a Brazilian-based multinational pharmaceutical corporation with operations in 22 countries, and global creative agency Dentsu Creative, today announced the launch of a new facial expression recognition experimental tool powered by artificial intelligence that enables patients with Parkinson’s disease to control their social media engagement using facial expressions. 

The WHO (World Health Organization) estimates 8.5 million people worldwide are affected by Parkinson's disease. In addition to any medical treatment in place, patients need to undergo physical therapy to slow the progression of symptoms of the neurological disease.  

The project team was dedicated to developing an innovative experimental digital tool that can help patients perform facial exercises through social media, controlling commands on the device's screen through gestures.

From the partnership between Dentsu Creative and Eurofarma, and with the support of the Brazil Parkinson Association was born Scrolling Therapy, an innovative app integrated with the social media networks Facebook and Instagram, and which, through the use of artificial intelligence, encourages patients to navigate the feed only by using facial expressions, such as smiles, mouth movements, nose, forehead, eyebrows, among others. The goal is to generate stimuli in the face and exercise the muscles, as a tool that can be complementary to all treatments already carried out focused on the condition. An important fact is that many patients with this disorder are unable to perform facial exercises, which can delay the symptoms of muscle atrophy in the face, causing hypomimia (reduced facial expressions).

The Dentsu Creative team championed the idea, rallying around the development in support of fellow colleague, Sebastián Porta, a patient with the disorder, who manifested the need of doing something to help the Parkinson’s community. Tapping into the advance of technology and the emergence of new artificial intelligence and communication channels, the team brought to life the possibility of developing something innovative that would unite facial exercises for people with this disease, while delivering an improved social experience for them. 

"It is very difficult to sit in front of a mirror for 45 minutes a day and watch your facial expressions changing in front of your eyes. Living with the disease is already difficult enough without literally facing it in the mirror every day. That's why I felt very motivated to propose a technology that could support all patients through an entertaining activity, which is browsing social media," comments Porta.

Eurofarma is one of the pharmaceutical industries that invest most in innovation. This is the first time that the company has ventured into the realm of digital tools. Eurofarma believes in this type of approach and, in the coming years, will remain motivated to prioritize projects with this focus. 

"Eurofarma has always specialized in Central Nervous System disorders and, with this new partnership, we are seeking to go further, with options that could support Parkinson's patients. Innovation has been part of our DNA since we were born over 50 years ago, and once again we are bringing something innovative focused on people’s quality of life," says Marco Billi, Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Digital at Eurofarma.

The Scrolling Therapy tool is available for free on the Google Play store and the Apple App Store. It is currently available worldwide to download in three languages: English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

"We are very optimistic about bringing an option that encourages people with Parkinson's to exercise. Our expectation is that, associated with specialized rehabilitation, this innovative technology can engage our community to stay active. We are very happy to be able to support this new tool", added Dr. Erica Tardelli, physiotherapist specialist in the disease and President of Brazil Parkinson Association.

App Development

The creation and development of the application joined efforts and collaboration of Dentsu Creative teams in Argentina, Brazil and USA, with Eurofarma and dentsu health's specialists. “This innovation was ideated in Argentina, developed in the US, and manufactured in Brazil, a truly global effort of medical specialists, creatives, and developers coming together across geographies and languages to deliver this ground-breaking technological application,” said Rafael Rizuto, Chief Creative Officer, US and Hispanic LATAM for Dentsu Creative. “At a time when AI is facing skepticism and being vilified, this is using its powers for good to benefit society and to help providing quality of life for many people who live with this disease.”

How does the App work?

After downloading the app on a mobile device, whether it's a phone or tablet, a brief tutorial will be loaded and then the user simply needs to open it on the screen for automatic integration with Facebook and Instagram. Then, accessing on either social network, the tool will already be in operation. When the user begins to browse the feed, there will be five facial gestures established in the platform that will execute commands on the screen, such as:

As the patient progresses with the exercises, messages will appear on the screen indicating success in executing the expressions. When 45 minutes of activity have been completed, the daily goal will be finished.

To download the app, click on the link below to be directed to each online store.

• Scrolling Therapy App

The Scrolling Therapy app is intended for general wellness use only and does not provide any clinical or healthcare advice or guidance, nor is intended directly or indirectly for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment or rehabilitation of any disease, state or condition. The contents of Scrolling Therapy, such as text, videos, graphics, images are for informational purposes only, and have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other regulatory agency. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, prevention, diagnosis, treatment or rehabilitation or to cure or prevent any medical condition. Self-diagnose is not the purpose of this app and patients must always seek the advice of their treating physician or other qualified health provider with any questions patients may have regarding any medical condition.

About Eurofarma Group 

Founded in 1972, Eurofarma operates in the healthcare sector with the production and commercialization of products and services to improve people's quality of life. With a focus on shared value generation, it covers all major pharmaceutical segments, such as Prescription, Generics, OTC, Hospital, and Oncology. With broad coverage of therapeutic classes, the portfolio in the region comprises 2.8 thousand SKUs and serves 42 medical specialties.

Present in 22 countries, primarily in Latin America, Eurofarma also has operations in the USA and Africa. With more than 11 thousand employees, in 2022 it became a publicly traded company registered with the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). It reported R$ 8 billion in net revenue, a growth of 13.3% compared to the previous year, with R$ 2 billion in EBITDA, an evolution of 20%. In R&D, investments in the year totaled more than R$ 590 million, equivalent to 7.4% of net revenue.

About Dentsu Creative

A division of Dentsu Group, Dentsu Creative is a global creative network that transforms brands and businesses through the power of Modern Creativity. A Cannes Lions 2022 Agency of the Year recipient, the agency is made up of 9,000 experts across the globe who work seamlessly together to deliver ideas that create culture, shape society and invent the future. For more information visit www.dentsucreative.com

About Dentsu Health

A division of Dentsu Group, dentsu health is transforming the healthcare agency services model through a global teaming platform of 2,000+ experts. Across their agency brands and open ecosystem of external partners, they specialize in health, wellness, and pharmaceutical marketing. They create connections between healthcare brands and customers by leveraging the transformative power of modern creativity and best-in-class data-driven insights. For more information visit www.dentsuhealth.com

Eurofarma on social media

Facebook: @eurofarma | LinkedIn: @eurofarma

Instagram: @eurofarma | Youtube: @eurofarmalab

Eurofarma Press Contacts

G&A - Public Relations

Luciana Lima – 11 98596-9601 – luciana.lima@gaspar.com.br  

Guilherme Gaspar - 11 98285-6000 – guilherme@gaspar.com.br

Dentsu Creative on social media

Instagram: @dentsu.creative

Twitter: @DentsuCRTV

LinkedIn

Dentsu Press Contacts

Jess Zafarris, Brand Communications Director 

Jess.zafarris@dentsu.com 

Karina Okabatake, Director of Communications DC Brazil

Karina.okabatake@dentsu.com

11 3131-5050

Victoria Nicolini, Corporate Communications Coordinator, LATAM

Victoria.nicolini@dentsu.com

+5491130572102