Dr Abhi Pratap October Seminar Series
October 22, 2025
We were thrilled to welcome Dr Abhi Pratap - Global Clinical Development Lead at Boehringer Ingelheim who delivered our October Seminar Series. In his talk “Why Mental Health Needs More Than New Drugs: Using Digital Health to Bring Patient-Centredness to Research and Care", Abhi shared case examples from emerging clinical studies to show how digital health can bridge the gap between clinical research and patient care in mental health. We will explore digital health solutions that help quantify the real-world experiences of health that matter to people - bringing us closer to understanding what treatments work for whom, why, when, and for how long.
Abstract:
Innovation in mental health treatment has been strikingly limited compared to other fields of medicine. In the last 15 years, fewer than five truly novel psychiatric drugs have received regulatory approval. This stagnation reflects multifaceted challenges linked to heterogeneity of psychiatric disorders often lacking biological markers grounded in disease biology. Additionally, there is significant reliance on subjective clinician-, rater-, or patient-reported outcomes, which increases variability in trial outcomes and poses challenges in patient selection and endpoint determination. Clinical studies also encounter persistent obstacles, such as high dropout rates, poor generalizability, and endpoints that frequently do not reflect what patients and their families value most. Consequently, there is a critical gap in new treatment development that are patient-centered, enhancing quality of life in real-world settings.
Use-case-centered implementation of digital health technologies offers a realistic path to address many of these barriers. Real-world data collected from smart devices can enable the continuous and ecologically valid capture of mood, cognition, behavior, and functioning, augmenting traditional, episodic assessments. This richer measurement framework can enhance sensitivity to change, reduce trial inefficiencies, and ground outcomes more directly in patients lived experience. In addition, the same smart devices can be used to deliver digital adaptations of psychosocial interventions, expanding access to evidence-based care and offering personalized and scalable options for populations that have been historically underserved due to stigma, geography, or cost.
Dr. Abhi Pratap is the Global Clinical Development Lead at Boehringer Ingelheim, where he oversees clinical development programs for digital therapeutics aimed at addressing unmet needs in serious mental illnesses. Before joining Boehringer, he worked at Biogen, managing one of the largest decentralised studies on cognitive trajectories in real-world settings in collaboration with Apple.
With over 15 years of experience in translational biomedical research, Dr. Pratap has led numerous health research studies that promote partnerships between academia and industry. His primary focus is on using digital health technologies to gain a deeper understanding of the real-life experiences of individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders. His cross-sector research aims to accelerate patient-centered clinical development in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Most recently, he led a successful pivotal Phase III trial targeting experiential negative symptoms of schizophrenia (NCT05838625) using a digital therapeutic. This study is among the first confirmatory trials to show improvement in negative symptoms to date.
Additionally, Dr. Pratap serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle and Boston University, and he is a visiting research fellow at King’s College London.
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We are delighted to welcome Luis Garcia-Gancedo , Executive Director and Head of Digital Medicine at GSK , to speak at our symposium and partner showcase next month. Luis will deliver his talk “Digital Medicine in Clinical Development: Innovation at the Industry-Academia Interface " Abstract: Digital Medicine is transforming clinical trials, with wearable devices, digital endpoints, decentralised trial technologies and AI-driven insights already integrated into many clinical development programmes. This presentation will provide an overview of the current landscape and will discuss the opportunity for industry-academia collaborations to overcome existing barriers (including evidence generation to support validation and regulatory acceptance) to propel the field forward for the benefit of patients. Date and Time: Thursday 11 June 2026, 10:00 hrs (BST) Location: The Science Gallery London, Guy's Campus Tickets are free, please register as spaces are limited : https://buytickets.at/kingsepsrcdrivehealthcentrefordoctoraltrainingindatadrivenhealth/2143742 Biography Luis Garcia-Gancedo is an Executive Director and Head of Digital Medicine at GSK. In this role, he streamlines the consideration of digital health technologies in GSK’s respiratory, immunology and inflammation clinical trials, transitioning from an opportunistic to a strategic approach for developing and deploying novel digital solutions that address key clinical development challenges. Prior to his current role, he was with AstraZeneca, GSK, and the University of Cambridge. Luis holds a BSc/MSc in Physics, a PhD in Engineering and an Executive MBA.
Bridging Academia and Industry: Turning Health Data into Health Solutions Please join us for the EPSRC DRIVE‑Health CDT Summer Symposium & Partner Showcase 2026 , a two‑day event dedicated to bridging academia and industry and accelerating the journey from health data research to real‑world solutions. This year’s theme, “Bridging Academia and Industry: Turning Health Data into Health Solutions", brings together our vibrant community of students, King’s academics, industry partners, clinicians and policymakers to explore how collaboration can unlock new insights, innovation and impact across health and care. Event details 📅 11 & 12 June 2026 📍 Science Gallery London, Guy’s Campus, King’s College London, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9GU Timings: ⏰ 10:00–16:00 each day ☕ Refreshments available from 09:30 👉 Please be seated by 09:50 for a prompt 10:00 start Please secure your place here: Register Now Programme highlights KEYNOTE ✨ Dr Luis Garcia‑Gancedo , Executive Director & Head of Digital Medicine – Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation, GSK INTERACTIVE DEBATE ✨ Student‑led interactive debate exploring AI within the context of the event theme: “Bridging Academia and Industry: Turning Health Data into Health Solutions.” PANEL DISCUSSION & POSTER JUDGING ✨ “What does industry actually need from health data PhDs - and how can industry partner with academia for maximum impact?” Panelists confirmed so far: Dr Laura Acqualagna , Director of AI/ML Engineering, GSK R&D Dr Chris Callaghan , Consultant Transplant Surgeon, Guy’s Hospital Dr Nina Sesto , CEO & Co‑Founder, MEGI Health Dr Srinivasan Vairavan , Director of Data Science & Digital Health, JNJ Innovative Medicine R&D, and Visiting Adjunct Faculty, King’s College London Dr Nicolas Huber , Director, King’s Innovation Catalyst PLUS ✨ Student lightning talks (across both days) ✨ 3‑minute Student Spotlight Slides (across both days) ✨ Poster showcase & networking session (Friday) ✨ Prizes for outstanding contributions (Friday) Please secure your place here: Register Now If you are no longer able to attend the event, please email drive-health-cdt@kcl.ac.uk so that we can reallocate to our waiting list.
