Alzheimer’s Association and MATTER select five finalists for pitch competition

Startups and entrepreneurs with solutions for early detection and diagnosis of dementia to pitch to industry leaders

December 19, 2022, CHICAGO — The Alzheimer’s Association, the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research, and MATTER, the premier healthcare incubator and innovation hub, today announced the five finalists for the Alzheimer’s Association Pitch Competition. Each finalist will pitch their solution following the Alzheimer’s Association Innovation Roundtable on February 2, 2023, in Houston for the chance to win up to $15,000.

The Alzheimer’s Association and MATTER launched the Alzheimer’s Association Pitch Competition this past October, calling on innovators to submit solutions that increase cognitive assessment and early detection and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other dementia within primary care settings. The competition received 48 submissions from 13 countries and selected five finalists — Accexible, ALZpath, AROMA Sensory Diagnostics & Therapeutics, Neurotrack and WellSaid.ai — to participate.

On February 2, 2023, the finalists will pitch their solutions to the Alzheimer’s Association Innovation Roundtable, including industry leaders from Acadia, Biogen, CommonSpirit, CVS Health, Eisai, Genentech, Kelsey Research Foundation, Lilly, Novo Nordisk, MedStar Mobile Healthcare and Texas Department of State Health Services, at The Westin Houston Medical Center in Houston, TX. The hybrid event will feature a live Q&A, judge deliberation and a keynote address. At the end of the event, the Alzheimer’s Association and MATTER will announce the judges’ picks for first ($15,000), second ($5,000) and third ($5,000) place. Learn more about the pitch competition and register for the in-person or virtual event here.

Meet the finalists:

Accexible — Barcelona, Spain
Screening procedures for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials are expensive and time-consuming, and a large share of potential participants fail the screening criteria due to necessary, restrictive eligibility criteria. Accexible’s speech biomarkers device agnostic platform is an effective prescreening tool to identify mild cognitive impairment and early dementia with a sensitivity of 91 percent and a specificity of 89 percent. Their CE-approved platform has been used with more than 2,500 people in partnership with major European insurance providers. Their tool is objective, readily scalable, reduces the time of diagnosis and can be used remotely. Furthermore, their speech biomarkers are available in multiple languages. At present, more than 40 neurologists and neuropsychologists at various locations are using their platform to monitor their patients’ mild cognitive impairment. Additionally, their solution is deployed within a clinical trial with 1,800 participants to detect and monitor MCI and dementias, combined with other biomarkers. They have an ongoing pilot with Dr Cullum’s team of the UTSW.

ALZpath — Carlsbad, California
ALZpath will transform the Alzheimer’s disease ecosystem by advancing patient care, trials and research by integrating novel blood-based and other biomarkers, clinical assessment tools and care solutions.

AROMA Sensory Diagnostics & Therapeutics — Kansas City, Kansas
AROMA has developed data-driven and scientifically validated sensory testing for early and actionable dementia diagnosis. AROMA’s methodology — designed with primary care at-home screening in mind — and proprietary olfactory phenotypes are 100 percent sensitive and nearly 90 percent specific for detecting mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

Neurotrack — Redwood City, California
Neurotrack is a digital health company on a mission to transform the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive impairments and dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease, in seniors. The company develops clinically-validated digital cognitive assessments, using eye-tracking technology, to measure and monitor the state of one’s cognition. The company has also developed a comprehensive cognitive health program that enables individuals to make lifestyle changes to strengthen their cognitive health as they age. Neurotrack has published 22 peer-reviewed papers and its solutions have been recognized by leading organizations including the Cleveland Clinic and the National Institute on Aging. Working with providers, health systems and employer partners, Neurotrack has enabled more than 150,000 cognitive assessments on its platform.

WellSaid.ai — Northfield, Illinois
Founded by a team of medical professionals and seasoned entrepreneurs, WellSaid.ai is the industry leader in the rapidly emerging field of technology solutions called age tech. Their mission is to support active, healthy aging by improving the early detection and support of individuals with cognitive decline and dementia. They deploy clinical grade cognitive and functional assessment batteries at scale to older adults in their own home leveraging voice activated consumer smart home platforms such as the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant apps and devices. Their scientifically validated assessment batteries, customized and supportive content, risk profile analytics and reporting technology powered by their artificial intelligence models are used by caregivers to identify, monitor and support risks to independence and give clinicians objective cognitive assessment data normally available only through inconvenient, in-person comprehensive clinical neuropsych testing. Over 14,000 older adults, their families and caregivers have taken advantage of WellSaid’s solution already.

About the Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.

About MATTER

At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 700 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.