FDA-Approved Gaming Shines Light On The Industry’s Therapeutic Potential

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration gave its first approval to a video game “to improve attention function in children.” Now, the game (EndeavorRX) may point to the growing field of prescription-strength gaming.

On Tuesday, Amy Webb, futurist and founder of the organization, made a presentation at South By Southwest (SXSW). During the presentation, she discussed her firm’s short-term and long-term goals in a variety of fields including news, health, and science.

According to The Washington Post, Akili Interactive, the company behind EndeavorXR, is hoping to prove that games can rewire the nerves in kids’ brains in a positive way. As a result, the company submitted five studies of over 600 children for approval. The studies showed that gaming can be used to “improve objectively measured inattention” in ADHD children. This development caused Akili to submit a “De Novo Classification Request” to the FDA, which is meant to provide risk-based classification for medical devices with no real precedence in the legal market.

Jeffrey Shuren is the director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. He had high praise for the game and the studies surrounding it. “The EndeavorRx device offers a non-drug option for improving symptoms associated with ADHD in children and is an important example of the growing field of digital therapy and digital therapeutics,” said Dr. Shuren. “The FDA is committed to providing regulatory pathways that enable patients timely access to safe and effective innovative digital therapeutics.”\

The Profit‘s Take:

Gaming is good for you, and always has been.

(All information was provided by The Washington Post and the F.D.A.)