How Pfizer and Midaia developed a groundbreaking rheumatism app with the 5-HT X-Linker

From the first meeting at the 5-HT X-Linker in 2022 to the joint market launch in March 2025 - the collaboration between the research-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the health tech start-up Midaia shows how matchmaking formats drive innovative solutions for the healthcare industry.

In an interview with Felix Lang, Co-Founder, CEO & Business Development at Midaia, and Peter Neske, Innovation Lead / Lead Pfizer Healthcare Hub Freiburg at Pfizer Pharma GmbH, it becomes clear how important platforms such as the 5-HT X-Linker are for bringing together major players in the pharmaceutical industry with agile health tech start-ups.

From initial contact to successful cooperation

“Matchmaking formats like the X-Linker are a great opportunity for pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer to network with start-ups and innovators within the healthcare industry. In 2021, two exciting partners with a clear vision for better digital care for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases came together here - almost four years later, we are now further developing the new Mida Rheuma App together with Midaia. Many thanks to Felix Lang for the inspiration back then!”

This quote from Peter Neske, Innovation Lead / Lead Pfizer Healthcare Hub Freiburg at Pfizer Pharma GmbH, perfectly summarizes how an encounter at a 5-HT event led to a long-term, patient-oriented partnership.

In the interview with Felix Lang, Co-Founder, CEO & Business Development at Midaia, and Peter Neske, it becomes clear how important platforms such as the 5-HT X-Linker are for bringing together major players in the pharmaceutical industry with agile health tech start-ups.

How it all began: The 5-HT X-Linker as a door opener

The story of the collaboration between Pfizer and Midaia began back in 2022 at the 5-HT X-Linker “Digital Health for Pharma”, an event that brings together innovation partners from the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

Felix Lang remembers: “Peter Neske and I ran into each other at subsequent events, but by then we already knew each other. And so we always had points of contact.”

Peter Neske acted as a crucial “door opener”, establishing contact between Midaia and the relevant Pfizer teams. Ralf Schröder and Dr. Martin Bauerfeind, both Senior Health Solutions Partners at Pfizer and part of the specialist department, worked hard for months to drive the solution through numerous internal departments and made a decisive contribution to its implementation. “A huge thank you to the three of them,” emphasizes Lang.

The Mida rheumatism app: digital support for millions of patients

The Mida Rheuma app is a digital solution for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis or psoriatic arthritis. Around 2.1 million patients are affected in Germany - but there are only around 700 rheumatologists, many of whom will soon be retiring. Even the professional association speaks of an extreme shortage and is calling for 2,100 rheumatologists.

What makes the app so special?

• Dynamic adaptation: The app continuously records patient data (pain, medication intake, side effects, quality of life) and adapts recommendations to individual needs.

• Integrative care: It combines drug and non-drug therapies - from movement exercises to psychological support.

• Physician support: Patient-reported outcomes provide physicians with valuable insights into the course of the disease, even between visits to the practice.

Felix Lang: “We can recognize depressive episodes or other symptoms and take targeted countermeasures. Studies show this: Patients who have such symptoms are less likely to achieve remission, i.e. a cessation of the disease. This is where we come in.” The evaluation also allows information materials to be adapted to specific patient groups.

The role of Pfizer

Pfizer not only supports the distribution of the app in practices, but will also contribute medically verified content in the future.

“Digitalization in healthcare offers enormous opportunities to make patient care more effective and personalized. Our cooperation with Midaia underlines our commitment to promoting innovative digital solutions that benefit both patients and healthcare professionals,” says Ralf Schröder, Senior Health Solution Partner at Pfizer in Germany.

Lang emphasizes: “It's not about advertising for Pfizer drugs - the German Drug Advertising Act prohibits that anyway - but about evidence-based education that helps patients better understand their therapy.”

5-HT as an enabler: why networks like 5-HT are indispensable

Without the 5-HT X-Linker, the collaboration would probably never have taken place.

Felix Lang: “We are a small fish - we need platforms that network and advocates like Ralf Schröder and Dr. Martin Bauerfeind who open doors and drive things forward. We wouldn't have had this access without 5-HT.”

Such formats are also essential for Pfizer: “Especially in the digital health sector, partnerships between start-ups and established companies are the key to achieving real improvements in patient care,” says Neske.

Outlook: An open platform for the future

The rheumatism app is just the beginning. Midaia and Pfizer are planning to continuously develop the solution further - other partners can also be integrated into the open platform.

Lang: “We are making this open - so that not everyone builds their own small solution, but together we create integrated care.” Lang is pleased that after the announcement of the collaboration with Pfizer, new players have already approached them with an interest in integrating into the platform. “A start-up can't hope for more when it joins a network like 5-HT. And if a success story resulted in further partnerships, that would really be a big thing for a startup,” confirms Lang.

Conclusion

This success story shows:

• Innovation needs networking - formats such as the 5-HT X-Linker are crucial.

• Large corporations & start-ups complement each other - Pfizer brings visibility in the industry, Midaia technology expertise.

• Digital health can close gaps in care - especially when there is a shortage of specialists.

The Mida Rheumatism app is available free of charge in the App Store and Google Play.

More information:

- Pfizer press release

- Midaia website