Collaboration seeks to determine if sensor data can be used to develop digital measures to accelerate drug development
SAN MATEO, Calif., July 22nd, 2021 — Evidation today announced a collaboration with Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, to investigate the utility of remotely collected digital measures to detect and monitor the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. This collaboration is focused on the identification of digital endpoints for Alzheimer’s that can be collected remotely in order to accelerate drug development. This work builds on Evidation’s previous research characterizing neurodegenerative disease using consented data from digital sensors and apps.
“We know that digital measures have the potential to make visible what is currently clinically invisible. This is an important, early step towards accelerating the development of new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, and, together with Merck, we are committed to better understanding, diagnosing, and treating Alzheimer’s Disease at its earliest detectable stages,” said Deborah Kilpatrick, Co-CEO of Evidation.
Merck and Evidation will conduct an initial study to explore data collected from smartphones and wearable devices from elderly individuals with and without cognitive impairment. This study will seek to test whether such data can be used to differentiate between populations and to understand variability and changes in digital measures across individuals and over time.
“Advances in passive remote monitoring are providing new compelling opportunities to identify novel endpoints and digital biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Michael Egan, vice president, Neuroscience Global Clinical Development, Merck Research Laboratories. “This collaboration with Evidation will allow us to explore new and potentially faster ways to evaluate the potential of candidates in development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease”.
Current scientific understanding of Alzheimer’s Disease suggests that pathophysiological changes, as well as subtle changes in cognition, sensory, and motor function associated with disease onset, are initiated years before the disease is typically clinically recognized. Evidation’s past research shows that smart devices may be useful tools in detecting neurodegenerative diseases before they manifest in a clinical setting.
About Evidation
Evidation measures health in everyday life and enables anyone to participate in ground-breaking research and health programs. Built upon a foundation of user privacy and control over permissioned health data, Evidation’s platform is trusted by millions of individuals—generating data with unprecedented speed, scale, and rigor. We partner with leading healthcare companies to understand health and disease outside the clinic walls. Guided by our mission to enable and empower everyone to participate in better health outcomes, Evidation is working to bring people individualized, proactive, and accessible healthcare—faster. Founded in 2012, Evidation Health is headquartered in California with additional offices around the globe. To learn more, visit evidation.com, or follow us on Twitter @evidation.
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