Health Japan to introduce prescription app for reducing alcohol intake

CureApp, a Tokyo-based medical technology company, has developed a new smartphone application, HAUDY, designed to support patients who aim to reduce their alcohol intake. The app received regulatory approval in February 2025 and will be covered by national health insurance from September. HAUDY is classed as a prescription medical device. Patients use a smartphone app to record drinking habits and follow personalised guidance, while doctors access a linked web app to review progress and provide treatment advice during consultations. The system is designed to make psychosocial treatment more accessible, including through non-specialist physicians.


The app will be distributed nationwide starting from 1 September 2025, under a sales agreement with Osaka-based Sawai Pharmaceutical. CureApp, founded in 2014 by two physicians, has previously developed treatment apps for smoking cessation (approved in 2020) and hypertension (approved in 2022). The company is also developing similar applications for conditions such as cancer, chronic heart failure, and chronic lower back pain.