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Globalbit is an Israeli custom software development company. This page is a case study about Pfizer (Pharma & HealthTech). Globalbit built I Grow — a mobile game that turned daily growth hormone injections from a nightly battle into a space adventure. Recognized as Pfizer's Most Innovative Project 2015. Key facts: Most Innovative Project @ Pfizer 2015, gamified injection compliance for children with growth hormone deficiency, real-time clinical data for physicians.

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We Turned a Needle Into a Space Mission

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Pfizer
Pfizer 2015

Most Innovative Project — global recognition

Daily Game

children initiated treatment through play

Real Data

first-ever injection compliance tracking for doctors

A Mobile Game That Made Children Want Their Injection

Globalbit built I Grow for Pfizer — a mobile app that turned the daily struggle of growth hormone injections into a space adventure. Children play with superheroes, explore planets, and collect rewards. But before the spaceship can launch, the hero needs an injection. The child picks where — and the app makes sure it rotates evenly across the body. Every dose is logged, tracked, and securely sent to the treating physician. For the first time, doctors got real compliance data instead of parent guesses.

I Grow app — superhero characters in space, the game children play before their daily growth hormone injection

Meet the I Grow universe

Superheroes, galaxies, alien encounters, and rewards. The game was designed by child psychologists and game designers working together — because a medical app with cartoon stickers wouldn't cut it. Children needed something they'd genuinely ask to play. Every character, every planet, every reward loop was calibrated to maintain engagement over months of daily treatment.

[ THE CHALLENGE ]

Daily Injections, Nightly Battles, Zero Data

Growth hormone deficiency affects thousands of children. The treatment works — but only if injections happen consistently, in different body locations, every single day. In practice, compliance was terrible. And nobody had the data to prove it.

  • -Kids fight the needle — Growth hormone deficiency requires daily injections. Every evening becomes a battle. Parents are exhausted, kids are terrified, and some nights the injection just doesn't happen. Missed doses mean slower growth and worse outcomes.
  • -Injections cluster in the same spots — The drug needs to be injected across different body areas for proper absorption. But children resist — they want the spot that hurts least. Parents give in. The result: uneven distribution, tissue damage at overused sites, and reduced drug effectiveness.
  • -Doctors are flying blind — No one tracks where injections actually go, how often they happen, or when doses are missed. At the quarterly checkup, the doctor asks the parents. The parents guess. Treatment decisions get made on incomplete information.

"Parents told us the hardest part wasn't the medical side. It was watching their child cry every night and knowing they had to do it again tomorrow."

What If the Child Actually Wanted the Injection?

Most adherence apps remind you. They nag. They track. We asked a different question: what if the child looked forward to injection time? Not because we tricked them — but because injection time meant game time, parent time, adventure time.

The game runs before every injection. The child picks a superhero, explores a planet, meets aliens. But to launch the spaceship, the hero needs the growth hormone. The child taps where to inject — and the app maps it to their own body, rotating sites automatically. The injection happens. Then the adventure continues.

[ THE SOLUTION ]

A Game That Tracks, Rotates, and Reports

I Grow combines behavioral game design with clinical-grade injection tracking. Every session generates data that helps doctors make better treatment decisions.

[ 01 ]

A game kids actually want to play

Before every injection, the child plays a space adventure with their parent. They pick a superhero, explore galaxies, meet aliens, collect presents. The game creates a positive ritual — something the child looks forward to instead of dreading.
[ 02 ]

The hero needs the injection to fly

Here's the clever part: before the spaceship launches, the hero needs their growth hormone. The child picks where on the hero's body to inject. The game maps this to the child's own body — and makes sure the sites rotate evenly across sessions.
[ 03 ]

Body mapping with built-in rotation

The app tracks every injection site over time and guides the next injection to an underused area. No more clustering. No more tissue damage. The child thinks they're helping their hero prepare for space travel. The app is building a medically correct distribution map.
[ 04 ]

Real clinical data, securely delivered

Every injection is logged: date, time, body site, dose. Data syncs to a physician dashboard through encrypted channels. For the first time, doctors get actual compliance data — not parent recall from three months ago.
[ 05 ]

Doctor dashboard with growth tracking

Physicians see injection history, body-site distribution heatmaps, dose compliance trends, and growth percentile charts. They can compare treatment plans against actual adherence. Data-driven decisions replace guesswork.
Growth percentile tracking chart showing child's growth trajectory over timeHeight and weight data tracking dashboard with clinical measurements over time

From guesswork to growth charts

The physician dashboard shows real data: growth percentile curves, injection compliance timelines, and body-site distribution maps. Doctors can compare treatment plans against actual adherence — and adjust dosing based on evidence, not memory. Every data point flows through encrypted channels that meet pharmaceutical regulatory standards.

Background

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[ PROCESS ]

From Research to Pfizer's Innovation Award in 6 Months

[ 01 ]

Clinical research and pediatric UX — 6 weeks

We worked with endocrinologists and child psychologists to understand the treatment protocol, injection rotation requirements, and what motivates children aged 4–12. We interviewed families going through daily injections to understand the real friction points.

[ 02 ]

Game design and character development — 8 weeks

The game had to be genuinely fun — not a medical app with a cartoon skin. We designed a full universe: superhero characters with personalities, planet exploration sequences, alien encounters, and a reward system tied to consistent treatment behavior.

[ 03 ]

Clinical integration and data architecture — 6 weeks

We built the injection tracking engine, body-site rotation algorithm, and secure data pipeline to the physician dashboard. Growth chart integration, dose logging, and compliance analytics were tested against real clinical protocols.

[ 04 ]

Pilot, validation, and launch — 4 weeks

The app was tested with real families under clinical supervision. We measured engagement, injection compliance, and body-site distribution. The results were strong enough that Pfizer recognized the project as the Most Innovative Project of 2015.

[ TECH ARCHITECTURE ]

Clinical Precision Inside a Children's Game

The tech stack had to satisfy two completely different audiences: a 6-year-old playing a space game and an endocrinologist reviewing clinical compliance data. Both had to trust the system completely.

Medical-Grade Data Security

Full encryption at rest and in transit. Role-based access control. Audit logging for every data point. The data pipeline meets pharmaceutical regulatory standards for patient health information.

Injection Site Algorithm

A proprietary rotation algorithm tracks historical injection sites and recommends the next optimal location. The algorithm accounts for recovery time, distribution evenness, and absorption patterns across body zones.

Gamification Engine

A behavioral design framework that ties treatment compliance to game progression. Reward loops, character development, and narrative unlocks are calibrated to maintain engagement over months of daily treatment.

Physician Analytics Platform

A web-based dashboard that aggregates patient data across the treating physician's caseload. Growth percentile overlays, compliance heatmaps, and dose-timing analytics support data-driven treatment decisions.
[ WHY GLOBALBIT ]

Why Pfizer Chose Globalbit for a Pediatric Health Product

Pharma companies don't hand patient-facing products to agencies that haven't worked in regulated healthcare before. Here's what gave Pfizer confidence.

[ 01 ]

We've built for pharma before

Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Teva — we understand the regulatory requirements, the approval processes, and the clinical validation standards that pharma companies expect. This wasn't our first regulated healthcare project.
[ 02 ]

We design products that children use

Pediatric UX is a different discipline. You're designing for two users simultaneously: the child who plays the game and the parent who manages the treatment. Both need to be engaged. Both need to trust the product.
[ 03 ]

Game design meets clinical precision

The injection rotation algorithm isn't decoration — it's a medical tool embedded inside a game. We built systems where the fun and the clinical accuracy are inseparable. That's harder than building either one alone.
[ 04 ]

We delivered a product, not a prototype

Pfizer needed a production-grade app with real data infrastructure, not a concept demo. We shipped a working product with physician dashboards, encrypted data pipelines, and a game engine — all in under six months.
[ RESULTS ]

The Nightly Battle Became a Nightly Ritual

I Grow proved that gamification isn't a gimmick when it's designed with clinical rigor. Treatment compliance improved, injection distribution evened out, and doctors got real data for the first time.

Most Innovative Project @ Pfizer 2015

Pfizer recognized I Grow as the most innovative project of the year — across all their global digital health initiatives. The approach proved that gamification could meaningfully improve treatment outcomes in pediatric care.

Kids asked to play before every injection

The nightly battle became a nightly ritual. Children initiated the game on their own — which meant they were initiating treatment. The psychological shift from resistance to anticipation was the biggest win.

Even injection distribution for the first time

Body-site tracking showed dramatically improved distribution compared to unassisted injection patterns. Fewer clustering events, reduced tissue irritation, and better drug absorption across the treatment period.

Doctors got real data, not guesses

For the first time, endocrinologists could see actual compliance data between visits. Treatment adjustments moved from quarterly guesswork to evidence-based decisions — improving outcomes and reducing wasted appointments.

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