Psychedelic Front Runners MindMed , BioXcel Patent System To Identify Agitation

This article by Gaurav Dubey was originally published on Microdose Psychedelic Insights and appears here with permission.

The psychedelic front-runners at MindMed MNMD have announced their partnership with BioXcel Therapeutics and published an International Patent Application describing a system for identifying agitation episodes. While the term “agitated” is often colloquially understood to mean “irritated”, “anxious”, and/or “upset”, it is a pathological hallmark of various diseases. As such, for detecting and preventing the early onset of agitation in patients predisposed to highly agitated behavior, the teams at MindMed and BioXcel have developed a state-of-the-art digital therapeutics tool to facilitate both caregivers and patients identify agitation symptoms before they arise. The disclosure provides a method for measuring the signs of an impending agitation event and alerts the caregiver to treat the subject before agitation symptoms arise.

Agitation is not its illness but rather a symptom of a single illness or a constellation of different diseases. By detecting the early onset of agitation in patients predisposed to highly agitated behavior, it allows caregivers the potential opportunity to prevent the agitation behavior, to begin with. As per the press release, the disclosure provides a method for measuring the signs of an impending agitation event and alerts the caregiver to treat the subject before agitation symptoms arise.

Characterized by excessive motor or verbal activity, irritability, uncooperativeness, and, in some cases, even aggressive or violent behavior, agitation is not an independent illness, but rather a combination of neurological and psychological conditions. By utilizing this new technology to track agitation and patterns of behavior, earlier, ideally less serious interventions will need to be taken. Examples include taking medication earlier, de-escalating the situation, and requiring less serious intervention. This ultimately leads to safer outcomes for both patients and caregivers both.

In a recent press release, Martin Majernik, the company’s Director of Digital Product Lifecycle, “This collaboration hits close to my heart because the first subject who helped us develop prototypes was my now deceased grandfather, while he was in his later stages of dementia. Watching him become increasingly confused and ultimately become aggressive was heartbreaking for our family, yet through this project, that heartbreak was sublimated into motivation for me. Fortunately, through this project, our exceptional team of clinicians and engineers is dedicated to building products that can have a tangible impact.”

The patent between them describes a method to collect digital measures that reliably predict the emergence of agitation by continuously monitoring physiological and behavioral correlations of sympathetic nervous system activity in patients. This is done using an automated sensor placed or mounted on the subject’s skin surface. Not only are caregivers notified of an impending episode, but the patients themselves are also given an anti-agitation agent and guided behavioral management to prevent the worsening of an agitated episode.

In addition to their robust drug development portfolio, advancing their digital therapeutic offerings further establishes this clinical-stage biotech company as a leader in the industry.