Happyneuron to provide a Computerized Cognitive Training program for a large clinical trial by Boehringer Ingelheim investigating combined schizophrenia therapy
Happyneuron SAS, a subsidiary of SBT Human(s) Matter Group, announces that it has been chosen by Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the pharmaceutical industry’s top 20 companies, to provide the at-home computerized cognitive training (CCT) for inclusion in an international multicentric clinical trial[1] that investigates the efficacy of a potential new treatment.
This trial will compare the effect of BI 425809 to placebo on cognition in patients with schizophrenia on a background of stable antipsychotic treatment and of at-home computerized cognitive training. First patients are planned to be included in April 2019. For the first time, an at-home cognitive training is added to the scientific design in the framework of a large international clinical trial in the CNS field.
This trial is critical to the scientific field for several reasons: The results will show if there is an enhanced benefit to combining pharmacotherapy with increased cognitive stimulation through at-home CCT in patients with schizophrenia. Second, the trial will evaluate the impact of BI 425809 with adjunctive CCT on outcomes relating to patients’ daily functioning. Finally, it will demonstrate if at-home CCT can be effectively implemented in a large trial across many centers and several countries. One key strength of this trial is the relatively large sample size which should result in robust data.
These combination trials are extremely rare, and this can open a new path for research in many other medical conditions if we can demonstrate the potentiation of drug effect by CCT.
According to Franck Tarpin-Bernard, President of Happyneuron, “this new partnership with a top pharmaceutical company is a great acknowledgment of the work we have done in the last twenty years. Happyneuron was a pioneer of cognitive training and our long experience in schizophrenia is thus fully recognized. The at-home version that has been specially developed for Boehringer Ingelheim will aim at helping thousands of patients to benefit from better cognitive remediation. We have been waiting for many years to find a pharmaceutical company that would accept to study how CTT can leverage the effect of drugs and we are very happy that Boehringer Ingelheim launched such a clinical trial.”
Happyneuron SAS, is the French leader of Cognitive Stimulation solutions. Pioneer of the field, Happyneuron serves more than 8500 Healthcare professionals mainly in French and English-speaking countries. More than 300.000 patients suffering from various cognitive impairments are using Happyneuron solutions daily. Happyneuron is a subsidiary of SBT, a listed company on Euronext Access market (ISIN FR0004175222 MLSBT). Combining Digital and Cognitive Sciences, SBT Human(s) Matter invents and builds experiences and usages to serve men and women fulfillment. Able to assess and develop individual and collective skills, SBT Human(s) Matter is unique in France and in Europe as a leader of “Brain Tech” applied to professional services and healthcare.
[1] The trial (NCT03859973) aims at recruiting 200 patients with stable schizophrenia in 6 countries and approximately 40 research sites.