- Study designed to determine differential diagnosis in depression patients
- Study designed to monitor patient data following pharmacological treatment
SYDNEY, Australia and MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medibio Limited (MEB or the Company) (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF), a mental health technology company that has pioneered the use of objective biometrics to assist in the screening, diagnosing, monitoring and management of depression and other mental health conditions, is pleased to announce the first prospective clinical trial with Mayo Clinic under a 5-year Master Clinical Trial Agreement that was signed in October of this year. This initial study, undertakes the prospective diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of both unipolar and bipolar depression, along with the depressive subtypes (melancholic and atypical).
The primary goal is to characterize longitudinal autonomic, circadian, and sleep patterns, as classified by the Medibio Analytics Platform (MAP), following the initiation of a standard pharmacological treatment for a new or recurrent, moderate-to-severe major depressive episode of both the unipolar and bipolar type. Additionally, MAP will be used to characterize patterns unique to the bipolar type depression.
The research study team will be led by Mark A. Frye, M.D., at Mayo Clinic’s Rochester campus. Dr. Frye, the chair of Mayo’s Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota and completed his psychiatric training at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He completed a subsequent research fellowship in the Biological Psychiatry Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Maryland. While at NIMH, his area of research was focusing on the neurobiology of depression and bipolar disorder.
“We have been eager to get this initial study started with Dr. Frye and Mayo Clinic, as this kicks off our first of many collaborations in mental health between our organizations. The importance of this study is to look at bipolar depression and differential diagnosis with our analytics platform, which can ultimately drive getting the right treatment to the right patient at the right time. Mayo remains a leading academic center of excellence that the world looks to for innovative solutions to global problems,” says Jack Cosentino, Medibio’s CEO and Managing Director.
”The Mayo Clinic Depression Center has focused our research efforts on studies that have the potential to innovate our clinical practice; making a positive impact on patients’ lives,” says Dr. Frye.
It is estimated that 350M people worldwide suffer from depression. Depression is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States. Two major challenges in the clinical practice of mood disorder is distinguishing major depressive disorder from bipolar depression and individualizing treatments for patients who struggle with depression. As treatment options markedly differ in these two mood disorders, biomarkers to help accurate diagnosis and guide treatment would be of tremendous clinical value.
About Medibio Limited
Medibio (ASX:MEB) (OTCQB:MDBIF) is a mental health technology company that has pioneered the use of objective biometrics to assist in the screening, diagnosing, monitoring and management of depression and other mental health conditions. The company was founded in Australia, with offices located in Melbourne (Vic), and U.S. offices in Minneapolis, MN. Medibio is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd and trades on the OTCQB Venture Market. Investors can find additional information on www.otcmarkets.com and www.asx.com.au.