atai Life Sciences and Massachusetts General Hospital Announce Initiation of Clinical Study Investigating Neuroplasticity Biomarkers in Treatment-Resistant Depression Patients Undergoing Ketamine Treatment
atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) has launched a clinical study in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) focusing on treatment-resistant depression (TRD). The study aims to identify neuroplasticity biomarkers using neuroimaging techniques during IV ketamine treatment. By assessing brain changes, the research seeks to advance understanding of treatment responses and efficacy. Given that treatment-resistant patients account for a significant portion of annual mental healthcare spending in the U.S., the findings could be pivotal for personalized mental health treatments based on neuroplasticity.
- Initiated clinical study with Massachusetts General Hospital targeting treatment-resistant depression.
- Aims to develop novel neuroimaging biomarkers to assess treatment efficacy and patient response.
- Potential to improve personalized treatment strategies for mental health disorders.
- None.
NEW YORK and BERLIN, Nov. 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- atai Life Sciences N.V. (NASDAQ: ATAI) (“atai”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders, today announced it has initiated a clinical study with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
The study will utilize a neuroimaging method to identify neuroplasticity biomarkers in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) undergoing intravenous (IV) ketamine treatment. The main objective of this study will be to develop a novel method to detect neuroplasticity through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, electroencephalogram (EEG) collection and clinical assessments. The study will identify changes in the brain at baseline, 24-48 hours post-treatment, and 2 weeks after ketamine administration. The availability of a validated protocol to measure structural plasticity at the neuronal level in the human brain would be a great advancement to the field of neuroplasticity research and may represent a potential tool for drug developers, researchers, and providers as an early biomarker of treatment response and efficacy.
“The study results will help guide atai’s efforts to discover personalized mental health treatments. Novel imaging biomarkers during ketamine treatment will enable a deeper understanding of the therapeutic mechanisms of action (MoA) and the pathophysiology of TRD. This knowledge can potentially help improve patient outcomes by informing if and how patients are responding to treatment and eventually which patients will most benefit from treatment,” commented atai’s Chief Medical Officer, Rolando Gutiérrez-Esteinou, MD. “The highly experienced team and technological resources at MGH will be invaluable in this endeavor.”
Nearly half of the
MGH is Harvard Medical School’s largest teaching hospital. Their Intravenous Ketamine Clinic for Depression offers access to ketamine treatment for severe and refractory depression. And these new brain imaging technologies available at MGH through the support of this study will allow scientists advanced neuroimaging tools and methods to see the neuroplastic effects of fast-acting drugs like ketamine.
Dr. Cristina Cusin, Associate Professor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the MGH Ketamine Clinic and Psychiatrist at the Depression Clinical and Research Program, and Dr. Susie Huang, Associate Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Attending Radiologist in the Division of Neuroradiology and Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in the Department of Radiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, will serve as co-investigators for the study.
Dr. Cusin said of the collaboration, “We are committed to providing excellent care to patients in need. A critical piece of this is conducting ground-breaking research. We look forward to embarking on this clinical study to help develop new tools to understand the biological changes occurring in depression, which, in turn, may lead to better and faster diagnosis, more personalized treatments and better outcomes.”
About atai Life Sciences
atai Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders. Founded in 2018 as a response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape, atai is dedicated to acquiring, incubating, and efficiently developing innovative therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health disorders.
By pooling resources and best practices, atai aims to responsibly accelerate the development of new medicines across its companies to achieve clinically meaningful and sustained behavioral change in mental health patients.
atai's vision is to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life. For more information, please visit www.atai.life
About Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The Mass General Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with annual research operations of more than
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Contact Information
Investor Contact:
Stephen Bardin
Chief Financial Officer
IR@atai.life
Media Contact:
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Senior Director, External Affairs
PR@atai.life
FAQ
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