Continuing to Advance Alzheimer Clinical Trial Design Through Technology: David Bates, PhD

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes

"These digital tools give a very accurate assessment of function. They can give high sensitivity, increasing specificity, and be a low-cost, high throughput way to assess individuals for very early signs of functional impairment that’s associated with the disease."

The 2022 Clinical Trials on Alzheimer Disease (CTAD) conference, held November 29 to December 2, in San Francisco, California, was filled with several promising presentations and pieces of research that could potentially move the field forward. Of them included the phase 3 findings of lecanemab (Eisai/Biogen), an anti-amyloid agent currently under review that could potentially become the second approved therapy for the Alzheimer disease (AD) in less than 2 years. Several of those within the space admired the rigid, in-depth, and transparent nature of lecanemab’s program, which could serve as a model for future trials.

Several of those within the field, including David Bates, PhD, are looking to modernize cognitive research with digital tools. Bates, currently serves as the chief executive officer and co-founder of Linus Health, a digital health company that leverages cutting-edge neuroscience, clinical expertise, and artificial intelligence. Linus’ flagship assessment, the DCTclock, is a scientifically validated digital update to the long-established, pen-and-paper Clock Drawing Test that identifies subtle signs of cognitive impairment while enhancing assessment objectivity and efficiency.

At CTAD 2022, Neurologylive^® sat down with Bates to gather his thoughts on the lecanemab news, and how the field is advancing in terms of clinical trial design. Additionally, he provided perspective on the role of technology and how it can continue to revolutionize AD research and contribute to the advancement of new therapeutics.

Click here for more coverage of CTAD 2022.