Winterlight presents research on speech-based digital biomarkers in collaboration with Genentech at AAIC

TORONTO, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Winterlight Labs Inc,. a Toronto-based, speech analytics and digital biomarker company presented initial results of a collaborative R&D digital health project with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. The project focuses on using speech recordings from the Tauriel, a Phase 2 study of the investigational anti-tau antibody semorinemab in prodromal-to-mild Alzheimer's disease, to explore novel speech-based digital biomarkers to evaluate changes in cognition. The initial results were presented during a Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology Virtual Oral Session at the 2021 Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC).

The Winterlight and Genentech teams collaborated by analyzing audio recordings of participants completing the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR). They examined how both the acoustic and linguistic content of participants' responses related to overall disease severity. Initial results showed significant associations between the structure and complexity of language and multiple measures of cognitive decline. 

Current clinical trial endpoints, such as the CDR, are complex, costly to administer, and have limited sensitivity to detect subtle cognitive changes over time. As command of speech and language are ecologically and functionally relevant clinical markers of disease progression, objective tools, such as those developed by Winterlight, can help generate novel, sensitive endpoints able to be administered remotely and at lower burden to the patient.

"We believe there is tremendous potential for these novel biomarkers to improve the way clinical trials are run," said Liam Kaufman, CEO and cofounder of Winterlight Labs. "We are excited about this opportunity to work with Genentech's clinical trial data, and leverage the expertise of their clinical and informatics teams in our biomarker development efforts."

About Winterlight Labs

Winterlight Labs has developed technology that extracts more than 550 features from speech and language and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create disease-specific digital biomarkers. Winterlight's current digital biomarker for AD is 91% accurate in distinguishing Alzheimer's from healthy aging using two minutes of speech. Winterlight's technology is currently used in more than a dozen clinical research studies including six Phase 2 and 3 trials of Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia. The technology is currently available in 4 languages (English, French, Spanish and German) and is deployed across Europe, the Americas and Australia. Winterlight is proud to have existing R&D collaborations with 5 of the Top 10 Pharmaceutical companies in Neuroscience. For more information, visit www.winterlightlabs.com or contact [email protected].

SOURCE WinterLight Labs

Related Links

http://www.winterlightlabs.com

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