Biotechs are used to turning to genetics as guideposts in developing new medications. Now, a small but growing number of startups are turning to a century-old technology found in hospitals and doctors’ offices across the country to find new clues for developing brain disorder treatments.
At least four biotechs — Athira Pharma, Alto Neuroscience, Beacon Biosignals, and Neumora Therapeutics — have integrated electroencephalograms, or EEGs, in their work. The tests use dozens of electrodes placed around a person’s head to measure brain waves, generally to diagnose epilepsy or sleep disorders, but these companies believe they could unveil new biomarkers for many other conditions.
“I think it’s fascinating, because if you look at history, EEGs are primarily used to track sleep and seizure activity. The only people who have ever been trained with EEGs are sleep specialists and seizure specialists,” said Rima Chakrabarti, a neurologist and investment partner at KdT Ventures. “There really is a dearth of analysis of this massive dataset we collect.”
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