Akili Interactive Labs Partners with Shionogi to Advance Prescription Digital Therapeutics for Behavioral Health in Japan and Taiwan

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Akili Interactive Labs, a digital health startup headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, recently signed a collaboration agreement with Japanese pharmaceutical giant Shionogi. The company is striving to develop prescription digital therapeutics for brain-related disorders.

In exchange for transferring the development, sales, and marketing rights for its two flagship products in Japan and Taiwan to Shionogi, Akili Interactive Labs will receive a $20 million upfront payment and up to $105 million in additional milestone payments. The receipt of these payments is contingent upon Akili Interactive Labs’ technology achieving expected outcomes.

“This partnership will enable us to help more people faster, while allowing the company management to maintain a certain degree of flexibility for the future. Shionogi has a 139-year history of developing innovative therapies, including a long-standing strategic focus on central nervous system (CNS) disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” said Vincent Hennemand, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Corporate, and Business Development at Akili Interactive Labs, in an email. “Shionogi possesses deep expertise in Japan’s unique regulatory, marketing, and sales frameworks. Importantly, they share our commitment to patients.”

Akili Interactive Labs’ flagship products are AKL-T01 and AKL-T02, targeting attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), respectively.

AKL-T01 is a video game system exclusively developed by Akili Interactive Labs, designed to activate the prefrontal cortex to improve cognitive function. The system is currently under FDA review. Vincent Hennemand expressed hope to receive feedback on the regulatory decision in 2019.

AKL-T02 remains in the development phase. Akili Interactive Labs plans to conduct large-scale clinical trials to determine its efficacy, and the company has also stated that it will receive “significant royalties” from product sales in these markets. Akili Interactive Labs retains control over data storage and collection, product development activities, and commercialization rights outside of these markets, as well as a distribution platform currently under development that is specifically designed for prescribing digital therapeutics and providing patient support.

The deal between Akili Interactive Labs and Shionogi stands in stark contrast to the partnership between Pear Therapeutics and Novartis. Novartis enabled the two companies to jointly develop new therapies and collaborate on distribution channels. However, according to Akili Interactive Labs, the key to controlling its distribution platform lies in the ability to establish long-term and sustained relationships directly with patient populations.

“This represents a unique partnership—digital therapeutics are being viewed for the first time as standalone treatments, akin to molecular therapies. We will retain full control over our digital therapeutics to create an advantageous trade and distribution system,” said Vincent Hennemand. “While this new collaborative approach may not make sense for traditional pharmaceutical partnerships or even for other types of digital therapeutics, it is essential if we are to maximize patient access to digital therapeutics and respond rapidly and meaningfully to patient needs. This requires a fundamentally new approach, with the same flexibility and adaptability expected of frontline healthcare workers.”

(Compiled by Ning Chen)