Game on for Akili as it hires commercial lead for its digital-first launch of its new game therapy for ADHD

Digital medicine company Akili has snapped up Foundation Medicine and ArcherDx veteran Matt Franklin as its new president and COO. He'll oversee the marketing and launch strategy for the world's first-ever digital therapy for ADHD.

Akili was in 2020 the first company to nab an FDA approval for a video game prescription. The treatment, launched last year, is for ADHD but works as a video game called EndeavorRx. The game is designed for children between the ages of eight and 12 who have inattentive or combined-type ADHD.

Franklin will oversee all of Akili’s commercial, product, engineering, medical and people operations, but his initial focus will be on the continued launch of EndeavorRx.

The company's consumer marketing campaign for the EndeavorRx game centers on social media, while its distribution relies on a digital-first model. Working with a company called Phil Pharmacy, Akili uses an entirely digital process. By the time the patient's parent walks out of the doctor's office, they should have a text from the pharmacy with an activation code. Therapeutic play can begin within hours.

 

The consumer campaign, “Made for the Mind You Love” started last summer on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Akili also works on efforts with influencers, including healthcare professionals and parent caregivers who have a big presence in ADHD circles. Franklin will now take over this launch cycle and continue its digital push. 

“We are thrilled to bring on Matt to help lead us through this pivotal moment in the company’s trajectory,” said Eddie Martucci, CEO and Co-Founder of Akili Interactive.

The game can be played on iPhone and iPads but the plan later opened this up more broadly to Android products as well. It works by targeting areas of the brain that play a key role in attention function.

It’s also hoping to go beyond ADHD, with programs in the pipeline to treat a broader range of kids with ADHD, as well as new games to address the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, post-COVID-19 “brain fog” and multiple sclerosis.

On its new game and the promise of its pipeline Akili penned a SPAC deal with Social Capital Suvretta Holdings Corp. I, back in January to combine in a reverse merger that’s expected to result in a $1 billion equity value for the newly public Akili.

The SPAC deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Franklin has worked across several major life science companies including cancer work as Exact Sciences, CCO at Thrive Earlier Detection Corp, CBO for ArcherDX, and SVP of marketing at Foundation Medicine as well as a stint at Boston Scientific.

“I am honored to join Akili, a company with a pioneering mission to deliver clinically-validated software-based therapeutics for patients living with attention dysfunction, a traditionally underserved area of medicine,” Franklin said.