Digital health startup Proteus Biomedical is partnering with Lloydspharmacy for the first commercial launch its smart pill and patch system, which will be sold at pharmacies across the United Kingdom.

The system, to be marketed as Helius, includes ingestible sensor-enabled tablets, which relay information to a patch worn on the body. Once the pills are swallowed, they relay information via the patch to a mobile application that can be used to monitor when medications have been taken, sleep patterns, and even physical activity. Consumers will pay for the system out-of-pocket.

Poor adherence to prescription regimens and other avoidable problems account for as much as $306 million (£198 million) in prescription medicine waste within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service each year, according to a study conducted by York Health Economics Consortium and the University of London’s School of Pharmacy.

“There is a huge problem with medicines not being taken correctly,” says Steve Gray, Lloydspharmacy healthcare services director. “Add to that complex health issues for families caring for loved ones who may not live with them and you can appreciate the benefits of an information service that helps patients get the most from their treatments and for families to help them remain well.”

Proteus secured 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its own device, the Raisin Personal Monitor, in April 2010 but has yet to launch a product in the United States. It received CE Mark approval to market its ingestible sensors in the European Union in August 2010.

The Lloydspharmacy partnership adds to several other substantial partnerships Proteus already has in place, including agreements with Avery Dennison, which is providing the adhesive and material technologies and developing the manufacturing platform to mass-produce the wearable sensors for the company’s customers. Avery will also develop its own proprietary products that incorporate the Proteus technology.

Novartis, which has a significant investment and licensing agreement with Proteus, is also applying Proteus’ smart pill technology first to its organ transplantation drug business. The pharma also has rights to use the technology later in cancer and cardiovascular applications.

Chris Brinsmead, chairman of Proteus Biomedical Europe looked ahead to the U.K. launch and the company’s future when he was appointed in September 2011: “With the launch of Helius first in the U.K. and then across Europe,” he said, “we will be building the foundation for a new kind of twenty-first century medical business—one that is as shaped, personalized and embraced by consumers as are the mobile phones, social media sites and other digital products that increasingly populate and define our daily lives.”