Top-funded digital health companies offering lifestyle interventions for dementia prevention: Company overview and evidence analysis

TL;DR

This study examines top-funded digital health companies offering dementia prevention services and finds limited clinical evidence for their effectiveness.

Contribution

The study identifies and evaluates top-funded digital dementia-preventive lifestyle services and their clinical evidence.

Findings

Ten top-funded companies received EUR 128.52 million in total funding, with three companies collecting over 75%.

Clinical evidence is limited, with only nine eligible publications and small study groups.

Funding levels do not reflect clinical effectiveness of digital dementia-preventive services.

Abstract

Dementia prevention has been recognized as a top priority by public health authorities due to the lack of a reversible cure. In this regard, digital dementia-preventive lifestyle services (DDLS) emerge as potentially pivotal services, aiming to address modifiable risk factors on a large scale. This study aims to identify the top-funded companies offering DDLS and evaluate their clinical evidence to gain insights into the international service landscape.

A systematic screening of two financial databases (Pitchbook and Crunchbase) was conducted. Corresponding published clinical evidence was collected through a systematic literature review and analyzed regarding study purpose, results, quality of results, and level of clinical evidence.

The ten top-funded companies offering DDLS received a total funding of EUR 128.52 million, of which three companies collected more than 75%. Clinical evidence was limited due to only nine eligible publications, small clinical subject groups, the absence of longitudinal study designs, and no direct evidence of dementia prevention.

Our study shows that the level of funding received by companies does not reflect the clinical effectiveness of DDLS. The study serves as an initial step toward understanding how DDLS are currently evaluated in today’s market and highlights the need for a more rigorous evaluation of DDLS effectiveness.

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