This post has been updated with a comment from Akili Interactive Labs CEO.
Cognitive reasoning has been a particularly hot area for investment in digital health, particularly as companies explore the potential of interactive approaches to conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post traumatic stress disorder. Akili Interactive Labs is one company in that realm.
It has raised $30.5 million to build a commercial infrastructure for its digital medicine applications in the runup to a potential U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance as it prepares for a product launch in 2017, according to a company statement. Among the investors taking part in the round are JAZZ Venture Partners, Canepa Advanced Healthcare Fund and PureTech Health.
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Project: EVO is based on a platform technology exclusively licensed from the lab of Dr. Adam Gazzaley at the University of California, San Francisco. A pilot study of Project: EVO was shown to improve attention, inhibition and working memory in children with ADHD, according to Akili’s statement.
In an emailed response to questions, Akili CEO Eddie Martucci said:
“We intend for our digital medicine products to compete in major pharmaceutical markets, and our goal has always been for our products to be accessible to all patients who can benefit from it. To us, that means the answer has to be mainstream medicine. In the case of ADHD, drugs are typically prescribed by pediatricians and psychiatrists, and we’ll aim for Project: EVO to be prescribed right there alongside drugs.”
The company highlighted the applications of its platform that it’s evaluating in clinical trials. The patient populations include pediatric ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (in strategic collaboration with Autism Speaks), depression, Alzheimer’s disease (in a strategic collaboration with Pfizer, Inc.) and traumatic brain injury.
