https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2020/03/05/1995917/0/en/Cognoa-Appoints-Dr-Colleen-Kraft-Senior-Medical-Director-of-Clinical-Adoption.htmlAAP 2018 Past President Joins Cognoa to Improve the Standard of Care for Children with Autism Through Greater Pediatrician Adoption of Digital Prescription Apps
(Palo Alto, Calif.– March 5, 2020) – Cognoa, the leading digital therapeutics company focused on pediatric behavioral health, announced today that renowned pediatrician and 2018 Past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Dr. Colleen Kraft, has joined the company as Senior Medical Director of Clinical Adoption. Dr Kraft’s expertise and experience will be used to assist in the broad adoption of Cognoa’s digital therapeutics by pediatricians to fundamentally enhance the standard of care for children with behavioral conditions, starting with autism.
The current system for diagnosing and treating autism in the U.S. is severely flawed, with specialists’ waiting lists spiraling out of control. Far too many children are forced to wait years to receive a diagnosis, missing a critical window to begin treatment. With early intervention being recognized as crucial, the AAP is now actively encouraging pediatricians to diagnose autism so that children can receive earlier treatment. This is in line with recent trends of pediatricians being more proactive and screening more often for developmental delays to speed up the time of diagnosis.
Cognoa’s pioneering AI-based digital therapeutic solutions address this problem by empowering pediatricians to diagnose the majority of children without requiring them to be referred to a specialist. This frees up specialists’ time to focus on more complex cases and enables earlier intervention to occur. Earlier treatments can have a profound impact on a child’s life outcomes as demonstrated by 75% of children with autism being able to participate in mainstream education should early intervention occur.
“Cognoa’s products and approach to empowering pediatricians comes at a crucial time in the AAP’s pediatric evolution to accomplish proactive care, early intervention, and ongoing collaborative management for those with behavioral health conditions,” said Dr. Kraft. “I am excited to join the Cognoa team and contribute to their groundbreaking work that I believe will equip every pediatrician with the tools they need to ensure that diagnosis and early intervention occur. Cognoa is laser-focused on improving the way pediatric healthcare is delivered, starting with the diagnosis and management of children with autism. I’m eager to help achieve a future where digital therapeutics enable optimal, equitable health outcomes for all children.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Kraft as the latest member of our burgeoning team,” said Brent Vaughan, CEO and co-founder of Cognoa. “As we stand on the cusp of commercializing our digital therapeutic products, Dr. Kraft’s unique clinical perspectives and experience will be crucial to the widespread adoption of our solutions amongst pediatricians. We look forward to working with Dr. Kraft as we fundamentally change the standard of care for how children are diagnosed and treated for behavioral health conditions.”
Dr Kraft is joining at an exciting time for the company which received FDA Breakthrough device designation for its pioneering autism diagnostic and for its digital therapeutic for children with autism. This means that both products will receive priority review by the FDA. Cognoa plans on filing its premarket submission for its diagnostic to the FDA later this year.
Dr. Kraft joins an esteemed group of expert medical practitioners all channeling their experiences to pioneer a new approach to treating behavioral conditions with digital therapeutics.
About CognoaCognoa is the leading digital therapeutics company developing FDA cleared products to be routinely prescribed by pediatricians and paid by insurers, to diagnose and treat behavioral health conditions, starting with autism. Cognoa is focused on changing the current standard of care to ensure children receive early intervention for behavioral health conditions for improved lifelong outcomes. Cognoa is currently working with the FDA as part of a clinical trial and expects to achieve FDA clearance by 2021. For more information, visit https://www.cognoa.com/.