BlinkLab shares rise after 20-person autism study
Key points
- BlinkLab reported measurable neurological differences in a study of 20 participants using its smartphone-based testing app.
- Shares in the digital healthcare firm gained 3.51% following the release of the trial data.
- The company plans to use the biomarker data to partner with drugmakers developing targeted neurological treatments.
BlinkLab (ASX:BB1) reported that its smartphone-based diagnostic tool showed a 54 percentage point performance gap between participants with genetic autism and control groups.
The trial compared eight individuals with the rare SHANK2 mutation against 10 siblings and 99 matched community participants across a 15-minute test.
"More specifically, we predicted a distinct signature across sensorimotor gating, habituation and movement, and this is exactly what we have now observed in the smartphone-based data," said BlinkLab CEO Dr Henk-Jan Boele.
Participants with the mutation scored negative 26.5% on sound-filtering tests, whereas unaffected siblings and community members scored positive 27.8% and positive 27.2%, respectively.
Following the announcement, the BlinkLab share price stood at $0.59.
The company stated that the study aims to open a commercial opportunity to help pharmaceutical firms measure treatment effects during neurodevelopmental drug trials.
The research was run alongside the United States-based non-profit SHANK2 Foundation to link genetic markers directly to physical movement and sensory responses.
