Innovation award for Würzburg app
05/05/2026The digital health application Axia, developed in Würzburg, was awarded first prize in the prestigious Peter Müller Innovation Award 2026 by the German Society of Internal Medicine (DGIM).
"The fact that the German Society of Internal Medicine has awarded first prize to a therapy app for axial spondyloarthritis - even though rheumatology is one of the smaller fields of internal medicine - is a very special recognition for us," says Dr Marc Schmalzing, Head of Rheumatology / Clinical Immunology at the University Hospital of Würzburg (UKW).
Axia, which has just been approved as the first digital health application (DiGA) for inflammatory rheumatic diseases, convinced the jury of the Peter Müller Innovation Award. The app prevailed in a pitch at the 132nd Congress of Internists in Wiesbaden and won first place. The prize is endowed with a total of 10,000 euros and is awarded annually for innovative digital developments with medical benefits.
Axia improves care for axial spondyloarthritis
Axia is aimed at people with axial spondyloarthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the spine. The app offers individualised exercise programmes with over 250 exercise videos, adapts content to symptoms, limitations and disease progression and supports patients in staying active on a regular basis.
With success: the results of the randomised controlled study with 200 participants were recently published in the specialist journal "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases". Compared to the control group, which received the standard procedure, the intervention group with the Axia app showed significant improvements in disease activity, functional ability and quality of life. More than half of the patients achieved a clinically relevant treatment response - significantly more than in the control group.
Axia closes a gap in care
"Axia consistently integrates a central pillar of therapy - movement - into the everyday lives of those affected and thus closes a significant gap in care," comments Professor Martin Möckel, Chairman of the DGIM project group "DiGA/KI in Guidelines" and member of the jury for the Peter Müller Innovation Award.
The digital therapy aid was developed by Würzburg medical students Maxime Le Maire and Tobias Heusinger and computer scientist Robert Leppich as part of the start-up Applimeda and in collaboration with the German Ankylosing Spondylitis Association (DVMB) and the UKW Rheumatology Department.
In addition to Maxime Le Maire, who accepted the award at the 132nd Congress of Internists in Wiesbaden, Dr Patrick-Pascal Strunz, rheumatologist and head of the Axia studies at the UKW, is also delighted with the award: "The award recognises the high clinical benefit of Axia and speaks for the high quality of our app developed in Würzburg and the studies conducted. Our studies show that Axia is a safe and effective complementary, non-drug treatment option to improve the care of patients with axial spondyloarthritis in addition to drug therapy."
The Peter Müller Innovation Award
The sponsor of the Peter Müller Innovation Award, which is endowed with 10,000 euros, is custo med GmbH, based in Ottobrunn. The DGIM awards the prize in recognition of digital innovations that promise particular benefits for patients and doctors and advance digitalisation in the healthcare sector.
"Digital tools can close gaps in care - especially in the case of chronic diseases, where the success of treatment depends crucially on everyday behaviour," says DiGA expert Möckel.
Website of the Axia app
