Brain-computer interfaces could redefine precision medicine

BCIs could emerge as a ground-breaking tool for the pharma industry, offering new ways to understand and treat complex conditions. By combining advanced technology with medical research, Ben Hargreaves finds that neural implants are being developed to provide more precise, responsive, and personalised healthcare solutions.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has increasingly embraced cutting-edge technology to advance human health, integrating artificial intelligence (AI), real-world data, and wearable devices into research and treatment approaches.

While today’s innovations might have once seemed like science fiction, their potential is becoming real. AI-driven analysis of large datasets is uncovering new insights into disease patterns, while wearable devices monitor patient health in real-time, delivering valuable data that could help in early diagnosis and proactive intervention.

The next frontier in the use of technology to improve disease management and treatment could be a step further into the realm of science fiction, as companies look into the prospect of implanting microchips directly into the brain. This approach, where the microchips are also referred to as neural implants or brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), could provide breakthroughs in restoring mobility and motor function, help to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders, and track disease progression.

The missing link

The company that has currently drawn the most attention for its work in the space is Elon Musk’s Neuralink. In January, the company announced that it had implanted its wireless brain device into a human being for the first time. The device is designed to act as a hands-free interface between the brain and electronic devices. This allows the user to control devices with thoughts alone, with the initial aims for users to be people with disabilities, such as paralysis, who have lost the ability to use their limbs. In the future, Neuralink plans to extend its capabilities by implanting BCI devices into blind people to provide them with vision.

In its current incarnation, Neuralink’s BCI is implanted into the brain through the use of a surgical robot. This is an essential part of the process, as the threads of the device are at micron-scale and therefore beyond the ability of the human hand. Once attached to the brain, the device is battery-operated and charged wirelessly via an inductive charger.

The first participant to receive the implant was able to successfully use the device to carry out various activities via computer, such as browsing the internet and playing chess. However, with such novel technology, there are expectations that things could go wrong. This was the case, as not long after implantation, some of the threads of the BCI retracted, limiting the number of electrodes that could monitor brain signals. The company has since implanted the device in a second patient, with Neuralink reporting that it had managed to mitigate the potential issues that had caused thread retraction in the first participant.

A novel use for graphene

Inbrain Neuroelectronics is a European company that is also working with BCIs, but is taking a different approach by using graphene-based neural technologies and by focusing its work on existing medicinal approaches. The company recently announced that it had secured Series B funding that totalled $50 million, which Inbrain will use to develop its BCI technology and support on-going clinical trials.

The potential for graphene to revolutionise nanotechnology, particularly in the medical sphere, has been discussed for years. In the case of Inbrain, the material, which is the thinnest material known to science and stronger than steel, is used in the implantable neural processor.

In September, Inbrain was able to implant the BCI into its first patient who was undergoing brain tumour resection. The device was tested and proved capable of distinguishing between healthy and cancerous brain tissue. According to the company, the use of graphene allows the BCI to capture brain activity in areas where traditional metals and materials struggle with signal fidelity.

“By capturing subtle abnormal changes in brain activity that may indicate the presence of cancerous cells in the brain, our BCI device can identify specific biomarkers that are often missed by traditional imaging or electrophysiology techniques,” Inbrain’s CEO, Carolina Aguilar, explained to pharmaphorum. “Unlike conventional methods, Inbrain’s approach can help create a detailed and precise map of the tumoural areas that should be resected in the brain, versus areas related to critical functions such as language or speech that should be preserved.”

The clinical trial was conducted at the Salford Royal Hospital in the UK. As well as testing the BCI’s ability to detect cancerous brain tissue, the objective was also to demonstrate the safety of graphene in direct contact with the human brain. A secondary objective was also to investigate whether graphene is superior to other materials in decoding brain functionality in both awake and asleep states.

Catching the attention of pharma

As part of the Series B financing round, Inbrain announced it had secured additional funding and support from Merck KGaA. According to the companies, Merck is interested in the technology due to its potential within its primary therapeutic areas. Inbrain noted that the partnership would allow it to expand its applications across both the central and peripheral nervous systems.

“Together, the companies are exploring the potential of graphene-based BCI technology to facilitate real-time precision neurology in areas like the vagus nerve in the peripheral nervous system which is involved in managing most of the core organs of the body, with each of these organs being a potential therapeutic target. By integrating Merck’s therapy development knowledge with our real-time therapeutic technology, we aim to accelerate the clinical application of cutting-edge and intelligent therapies for large metabolic and systemic conditions,” said Aguilar.

Broader than this, Aguilar suggested that the BCI technology could be especially useful in precision medicine. She noted that it could allow for real-time insights into patient responses to treatments, allowing drug developers to monitor efficacy and optimise drug dosing dynamically. The technology could also help to identify specific neurological biomarkers associated with disease progression and treatment response.

Another potential angle for pharma to make use of BCIs could be through enabling longitudinal studies that track disease trajectory over extended periods of time. This would provide long-term data that could be used as part of a regulatory approval process or in post-marketing studies.

The range of potential uses for BCIs in pharma is extensive, the only barrier to execution lies in proving their capabilities. For that, there will need to be further clinical trials and particularly the proof that they can be embedded into patients’ lives safely in the long-term.

With this further research and long-term validation, BCIs have the potential to become a critical tool in precision medicine, offering detailed, real-time insights into patient responses, enhancing drug efficacy through dynamic dosing, and enabling more accurate monitoring of disease progression, ultimately paving the way for safer and more effective treatments.