An innovation developed at the RSU Business Incubator promotes the safe use of medications
The Rīgas Stradiņš University (RSU) Business Incubator is an environment where students, researchers, and university staff can develop their ideas and turn them into real products and services.
One of the most significant events of the incubation programme is Demo Day, which took place on June 9 this year. During the event, student teams give short presentations - or “pitches” - to introduce the jury and the audience to their business ideas and the progress they’ve made during the programme.
At this Demo Day, the jury recognized the TALLY team’s project - the TALLY mobile app, which is designed to help patients more easily track their medication use and any potential side effects - as one of the top three projects.
The creators of this idea, Dominique Ho and Luxsana Mathiyalagan, have combined their expertise in pharmacology, medicine, health technology, and entrepreneurship to develop the app. The team received 3,000 euros to further develop their innovation.
We invited the project's creators to talk about how the idea came about, the development process, and their plans for the future.
What are you both studying, and how did your team come together?
Dominique: Esmu absolvējusi Londonas Universitātes koledžu, iegūstot maģistra grādu farmakoloģijā. Esmu īstenojusi arī vairākas uzņēmējdarbības ieceres, tostarp vadījusi tiešsaistes konditorejas uzņēmumu un sniegusi privātstundas.
Luxsana: I am currently a senior at the RSU Faculty of Medicine. I am particularly interested in medical technologies and innovations in healthcare. To deepen my knowledge in this field, I have taken a course on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and actively participated in medical technology events. Alongside my studies, I have led several projects and, as a member of the International Student Association, organized clinical workshops for students.
Our knowledge of medicine and pharmacology proved to be a significant advantage in negotiations with potential partners and other stakeholders. We’ve known each other since high school, so we already had good communication and trust between us.
What would you say about the TALLY app to people who are hearing about the project for the first time?
TALLY is a mobile app designed to improve the monitoring of medication use. It allows patients to conveniently record the medications they are taking and report any potential side effects.
The app functions as a symptom diary. If a user wants to report a possible side effect, TALLY helps structure this information in accordance with internationally established requirements. The completed report can then be sent to national regulatory authorities, pharmaceutical companies, or healthcare providers.
Our goal is to make the reporting process as simple as possible for patients, while ensuring that the information collected is accurate, structured, and usable for drug surveillance.
Why did you decide to focus specifically on adverse drug reactions?
Studies show that nearly 95 percent of adverse drug reactions go unreported. This points to a significant gap in the current drug safety monitoring system.
If patients experiences are not recorded, valuable information is lost that could help improve drug development, prescribing, and use.
We identified an opportunity to improve the way adverse drug reactions are identified, documented, and reported. In the long term, this approach could promote safer medication use and better treatment outcomes for patients.
Why is it important for patients to report any side effects they experience?
One person’s experience with a particular medication may initially seem insignificant. However, when this experience is combined with hundreds or thousands of similar reports, it becomes possible to identify patterns, previously unidentified risks, and rare complications.
This information is essential for drug safety monitoring. It can help healthcare professionals and regulatory agencies better understand how medications affect different patient groups and make more informed decisions about their use.
What was the biggest challenge in developing the project?
Pharmaceutical safety monitoring is a strictly regulated field, so simply creating a user-friendly mobile app is not enough. The information must be collected in such a way that it is high-quality, structured, and usable by the institutions and companies responsible for it.
Therefore, one of the most important tasks was to create a tool that is easy for patients to use, yet capable of generating information suitable for professional use.
Was there a moment during the programme that particularly stands out in your memory, or an achievement you’re proud of?
Winning the second place in the Deep Tech Atelier Impact Pitch Arena competition and our success at the RSU Business Incubator Demo Day were very significant achievements for us. The recognition and trust shown by our mentors and industry experts in our idea strengthened our confidence in the potential of the TALLY app and motivated us to continue developing the project.
However, we are most proud of the progress we have made outside of competitions.
From our initial discussions about the idea, we have progressed to the point where we can develop an additional app for a major pharmaceutical company, and we have also begun talks about a partnership with the Latvian State Agency of Medicines.
How has participation in the incubation programme contributed to the development of the TALLY app?
It helped us view TALLY not only as a technological and medical solution, but also as a sustainable and viable business idea.
Feedback from mentors and potential users allowed us to critically evaluate our initial assumptions. During the programme, we defined the problem we were addressing more precisely, gained a deeper understanding of the needs of the various stakeholders, and more clearly articulated the value of the TALLY app for patients, pharmaceutical companies, and healthcare providers.
The opportunity to present our idea to a wider audience was particularly valuable. Preparing for the short presentations forced us to explain a complex solution in a simple, precise, and understandable way.
What are the next steps in the development of the TALLY app?
The next major step is to continue testing and refining TALLY. It is important to us to ensure that the app is simple and convenient enough for everyday use, while also ensuring that it complies with industry, data protection, and information processing requirements. In the next phase of development, we plan to refine the prototype and explore potential collaboration models.
Discussions with potential partners confirm that there is interest in such a solution. Our task now is to evaluate, step by step, how TALLY can be integrated into the actual drug safety monitoring system.
What advice would you give to students who are considering participating in the next incubation programme?
First of all, I would recommend choosing your team carefully. It’s important to work with people who truly believe in the idea and are willing to invest an equal amount of time, energy, and responsibility into its development.
Open and regular communication is just as important.
Team members may have different and sometimes competing priorities, so it’s a good idea to agree on the division of responsibilities and how to organize the work right from the start.
Regular communication helps maintain momentum, while problems should be addressed as soon as they arise.
I would also recommend not getting too attached to the initial version of an idea. The essence of an incubation programme is to test, challenge, and refine a business concept. Discussions with mentors, industry experts, and potential customers can significantly alter the initial solution or business model. Therefore, the ability to listen, learn, and adapt is one of the greatest advantages.
RSU biznesa inkubators dod idejām iespēju pārtapt praktiskos risinājumos. Tajā studenti pārbauda savus pieņēmumus, mācās no mentoriem un nozares ekspertiem un pielāgo ideju reālām vajadzībām. TALLY piemērs parāda, kā studentu iniciatīva var kļūt par izcilu iespēju zāļu lietošanu padarīt drošāku.
The Encanto Equestrian concept was developed as part of the project Rīga Stradiņš University Student Innovation Grants (No. 1.1.1.7/1/25/A/002).
