That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for healthcare and technology. On Tuesday, the FDA announced that it has approved the first digital pill that has a sensor to track if patients are taking their medication properly.

Essentially, the digital pill is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd’s drug Abilify for bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia, which contains a tracking device created by Proteus Digital Health.

For those who don’t know, Otsuka Pharmaceutical is owned by Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. (OTC:$OTSKF). And now that the news is out, shares of parent company Otsuka Holdings are up 2.50%.

The FDA has stated that tracking medicine prescribed for those with mental illness will prove to be useful for a number of patients.

“The FDA supports the development and use of new technology in prescription drugs and is committed to working with companies to understand how technology might benefit patients and prescribers,” Mitchell Mathis said.

So, how does it work?

Well, the system will first send a message from the pill’s sensor to a wearable patch. After that, it will transmit the information to a mobile app, which will allow patients to track their medication on their smartphone device.

Perhaps one day we will have digital pills that can help patients manage other medicine routines, such as those with heart conditions or diabetes.

Featured Image: twitter