Cambridge Cognition announces new contracts for CANTAB Connect for HAL testing of investigational drugs

Oct 17 2016

Cambridge Cognition today announced a series of new contracts for its cloud-based CANTAB Connect software platform for the Human Abuse Liability (HAL) testing of investigational drugs. The abuse of prescription drugs is the fastest growing drug problem in North America. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 48 million people in the U.S. have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.  Furthermore, with the rising number of new compounds targeting the central nervous system and tighter government regulation in place from the FDA in particular, clinical trials assessing drug abuse potential are becoming more commonplace and necessary

Since launching CANTAB Connect software platform in 2014, Cambridge Cognition has become the leading provider of Human Abuse Liability (HAL) assessment technology, helping the Company’s drug development partners to achieve multiple FDA approved abuse deterrent labels.

To date the Company has signed 35 HAL contracts following the launch of the CANTAB Connect Abuse Liability product (vs. 8 before 2014), with revenues totalling in excess of £3m (vs. £0.6m before 2014) in a market which is expected to continue to grow.

These HAL trials require more time and resources than most Phase I trials. The CANTAB Connect platform has been used to significantly reduce data errors and increase efficiencies in these studies, saving both time and cost for drug manufacturers.

The contracts announced today will use CANTAB Connect to assess abuse potential in a new, unexplored and growing therapeutic area, which is an extension of the HAL market targeted to date.

Steven Powell, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Cognition:

Where labour-intensive, imprecise and error-prone manual tests were used previously to measure drug effects, our computerised solutions now improve trial efficiencies and optimise the likelihood of success throughout all stages of drug development. Human abuse liability studies play an increasingly important role in this process and we look forward to supporting new and existing partners and customers through our enlarged commercial team as this market continues to grow.