Takeda, Cognition Kit to investigate depression diagnosis app

Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A. Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., is collaborating with Cognition Kit Ltd., a joint venture between Cambridge Cognition Holdings PLC and Ctrl Group Ltd., to pilot the use of an Apple Watch app that assesses cognitive function in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
"Takeda is committed to CNS and the mental health community," Nicole Mowad-Nassar, vice president of external partnerships at Takeda, said. "This collaboration is part of our strategy to embrace new technology to better understand the patient experience and assist healthcare professionals in creating improved patient care pathways."
Cognition Kit developed the app to assess symptoms of depression, which affects roughly 350 million people worldwide making it the leading cause of disability around the globe. Cognitive testing can help detect and understand symptoms associated with MDD.
The partnership will allow for a study to evaluate feasibility of the app.
"By combining wearable technology with world leading neuroscience, we’ve created an app that collects real time passive and active high-frequency mental health data," Dr. Jenny Barnett of Cognition Kit said in a statement. "Being able to access data regularly from daily life can help clinical decision making. Health care professionals can obtain patient data and increase patient engagement in their treatment."