BioBehavioral Diagnostics Secures $8.5 Million Series A Financing
--Funds will support commercialization of proprietary diagnostic products for the
objective assessment of ADHD and measurement of response to medication--
Cambridge, MA, February 2, 2007 – BioBehavioral Diagnostics Company (BioBDx)
announced today that it has secured an $8.5 million Series A financing co-lead by Sevin
Rosen Funds and Tullis-Dickerson. BioBDx has created a proprietary diagnostic system
for objectively measuring the core components of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) to aid clinicians in accurate diagnosis.
The BioBDx solution provides precise measures of symptom severity to systematically
evaluate a patient’s response to either a given dose and type of medication or to a nonpharmacological
treatment, which can then be compared to a large database containing
normal data to determine whether a given treatment is producing full or partial
improvement. The product is expected to be commercially available in 2008.
The company’s lead product -- the McLean Motion and Attention Test for Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MMAT/ADHD™ System) -- is a non-invasive, FDAapproved
diagnostic system that provides objective and precise measures of the core
symptoms of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. While stimulant
treatment can be remarkably effective in treating ADHD, individual patients can respond
variably to different medications and improved diagnostic techniques could enhance
outcomes for clinicians and patients alike.
“While this fundraising validates the business opportunities for investors, providers, and
payors, it is the children, adolescents, and adult patients, along with the parents, who we
expect will be the biggest winners,” said Eric Gordon, CEO and founder of BioBDx.
“The MMAT/ADHD™ System may provide real hope for patients and families who
struggle with ADHD and ineffective treatments for ADHD, including medication overuse
and misuse. Families may save years of disappointment and doubt in attempting to
correctly identify and treat this disorder.” The funds raised in this financing will allow
the company to commercialize its lead product, the MMAT/ADHD™ System, which
BioBDx anticipates launching in the U.S. in 2008.
BioBDx’s product portfolio includes ADHD diagnostic systems for children, adolescents,
and adults. The MMAT/ADHD™ System is currently FDA-approved for use by clinicians
for the diagnostic assessment of ADHD and it is now finishing commercial development.
In late 2006, the company filed a new Premarket Notification 510(k) with the FDA
seeking marketing approval for the added use of enabling the clinician’s systematic
evaluation of a patient’s response to either a given dose and type of medication or to a
non-pharmacological treatment.
“Providing clinicians with a non-invasive, office-based method to quantitatively measure
the core symptoms of ADHD is winning half the challenge, said Dave McLean, General
Partner, Sevin Rosen Funds. “Moreover, helping physicians determine the right drug and
optimal dosage as part of an ongoing, personalized patient care will also help increase
therapeutic success rates and this is what we believe makes this solution so special."
Timothy Buono, a partner at Tullis-Dickerson, noted that, “BioBehavioral Diagnostics is
establishing the clinical evidence that the MMAT/ADHD™ System could provide payors
the means to promote quality care and optimal performance to their members through
cooperating providers. The company’s research demonstrates that the MMAT/ADHD™
System not only objectively measures the physiological changes related to ADHD, but
also measures those alterations that affect health outcomes. Moreover, evidence is now
accumulating that the positive therapeutic responses as reported by the MMAT/ADHD™
System in the clinician’s office may be readily replicated outside the office, in the
classroom, and in the workplace. These are especially meaningful results for the company
and we are excited to be contributing to the product launch in 2008.”
About ADHD
ADHD is a neurobiological disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate
impulsivity, attention, and hyperactivity. ADHD is estimated to affect 5-12% of U.S.
children and adolescents and another 4-8% of U.S. adults. The medication market for
ADHD-related pharmaceuticals in the U.S. has grown from $750 million in 2000 to
currently approximately $3 billion. Current behavioral diagnostic methods are subjective
and could vary amongst practitioners. Similarly, there currently are no quantitative
diagnostic tools to help physicians determine the right medication or evaluate a drug’s
efficacy for an individual patient.
Clinical experience in psychiatry acknowledges the need to increase positive rates of
accurate ADHD diagnostic assessments while using the American Psychiatric
Association (APA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines. The
majority of clinicians who perform the behavioral diagnoses and prescribe medication are
pediatricians and general practitioners, rather than psychiatrists or neurologists who
specialize in evaluating psychiatric and behavioral disorders. Clinicians require
increasingly sophisticated and quantitative measures to improve diagnostic ADHD
assessment and therapeutic outcomes. With the advancement of systems that provide
rapid, quantitative and objective measures of the symptoms of ADHD, substantial
increases in rates and speed of ADHD patient normalization above the customary
community care levels could be expected.
About the MMAT/ADHD™ System
The MMAT/ADHD™ System objectively measures a patient’s ability to sit still and pay
attention, while generating quantitative data that have been directly correlated to brain
function and blood flow through functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
techniques. The MMAT/ADHD™ System provides precise, reliable, and reproducible
information on symptom severity under controlled conditions that replicate a classroom
or employment environment. Through BioBDx’s proprietary Behavior Capture® System,
the MMAT/ADHD™ System has been engineered to precisely provide clinically relevant
measurements of behavior that manifest from the three core symptoms of ADHD
(hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention). The MMAT/ADHD™ System provides
exceptional performance and reproducibility, and promotes vastly improved patient
outcomes. The BioBDx product portfolio includes ADHD diagnostic systems for
children, adolescents and adults.
The MMAT/ADHD™ System was invented by Martin H. Teicher, M.D., Ph.D., the
director of the Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program at McLean Hospital since
1988. McLean Hospital is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, an
affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of Partners HealthCare.
About BioBDx
BioBehavioral Diagnostics Company (BioBDx) is a privately held company whose
mission is to develop, manufacture, and market proprietary diagnostic systems for the
quantitative assessment of behavioral disorders, including the measurement of medication
response and the prediction of therapeutic efficacy for a patient. The company’s lead
product, the McLean Motion and Attention Test for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (MMAT/ADHD™ System), is designed to enable clinicians to accurately make
office based diagnoses for ADHD, select the right class of medication, and measure
therapeutic efficacy of a given drug while determining an optimal dosage. The BioBDx
product portfolio includes ADHD diagnostic aid systems for children, adolescents, and
adults. The MMAT/ADHD™ System is currently FDA approved as an aid for the
diagnosis of ADHD. The company anticipates a product launch early in 2008. For more
information on BioBDx, please visit http://www.biobdx.com/.
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For information contact:
Craig Martin
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
617-577-8110
craig.martin@fkhealth.com
