Akili Interactive, a US-based company that has raised $110m in its series D round from Japan-based pharma group Shionogi, has taken it further than most by developing video games approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to tackle attention-deficit hyperactivity/disorder and major depressive disorder.
Akili Interactive is clinically proven to improve cognitive function something that so-called brain-training games have touted for years.
In this case Akili is tackling neuro-divergent issues and fits squarely into the wellness trends to tackle people without medical proceedures.
Likewise, Germany-based Ada Health, which uses artificial intelligence to try to diagnose symptoms and in a peer-reviewed study was found to be the most accurate on the market, has been backed by the corporate venturing units of local drugs group Bayer and South Korea’s Samsung’s Catalyst Fund.
Both CVC units, along with peers from Hitachi, Sony and Unilever, had earlier in the month backed UK-based diagnosis firm Huma’s $130m round. Huma’s software lets clinicians monitor patients remotely through a mobile app. Huma, like Ada, also uses a range of wearables and other devices to gather data on things like heart rate and oxygen saturation.
Effectively, taking people out of the doctor’s surgery or hospital visit for routine checks and earlier monitoring of symptoms should limit expensive, time-consuming checks at a time when medical services risk being overwhelmed by covid-19.
