Re:Cognition Health, a global leader in brain and memory health research, and Cera, Europe’s largest digital-first home healthcare provider, today announce a new collaboration designed to expand access to Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative clinical trials and support more people to take part earlier in their health journey.
The collaboration brings together Re:Cognition Health’s specialist brain health clinics and clinical trial expertise with Cera’s 2.5 million monthly home care visits, creating new pathways for individuals who may benefit from advanced assessment and research opportunities to be identified and supported.
By linking care in the home with specialist research centres, this collaboration aims to ensure that more people can be offered the opportunity to take part in clinical trials, helping them access the latest advances in diagnosis and treatment, whilst contributing to the development of future treatments.
Re:Cognition Health has played a pivotal role in the development of pioneering Alzheimer’s treatments, including lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla), with its clinics delivering international clinical trials that helped bring these therapies into clinical practice. These medicines mark a significant paradigm shift in Alzheimer’s care, introducing disease-modifying approaches and redefining what is possible in early intervention and treatment.
Older adults, particularly those aged 75 and over, carry a disproportionate burden of chronic disease yet remain under-represented in clinical research. NIHR data shows that only about 15% of clinical trial participants are aged 75 or older, despite this group having high levels of multimorbidity and health needs. This under-representation has been highlighted by research leaders, including Professor Sir Chris Whitty and the NIHR, as a major concern because it slows the development of new treatments and means many studies do not reflect the real-world population affected by conditions like dementia. Additionally, recruitment into dementia trials in the UK is low compared with other disease areas, with only a small fraction of eligible people registering for studies.
Through this collaboration with Cera, Re:Cognition Health will be able to reach individuals who may not yet have accessed specialist memory services, enabling earlier referral, assessment and potential participation in clinical trials – and, where appropriate, access to new-generation therapies at the earliest possible stage of disease.
Cera’s home healthcare model, powered by technology-enabled data capture and daily patient contact, offers a unique window into cognitive health in familiar environments. With patient consent, Cera will refer potential participants to Re:Cognition Health clinics for clinical trials they may be a match for.
Together, Re:Cognition Health and Cera will support earlier, more equitable participation in Alzheimer’s research by leveraging Cera’s unique scale and insight. Cera’s carers and nurses deliver technology-enabled home healthcare visits – counting one every second on average. Through these, Cera captures real-time, data-driven insights into daily cognitive health, enabling the early identification of individuals who may benefit from specialist memory assessment.
This collaboration ensures that:
• Earlier identification and referral, enabling people to access specialist memory assessment and intervention at the most meaningful point in their health journey.
• Equitable access to clinical trials, with participation determined solely by clinical suitability — not geography, mobility, or care setting, so no one is excluded from potentially life-changing research opportunities.
• No financial barriers to participation, with studies free to join, expenses reimbursed, and access to world-leading healthcare and regular health monitoring throughout the trial.
• Expert clinical oversight at every stage, with specialist neurologists and psychiatrists guiding assessment, participation, and follow-up, ensuring both safety and continuity of care.
By combining home healthcare with specialist clinical expertise, this partnership empowers individuals to engage in research at the earliest opportunity, maximising the potential benefits of novel therapies while contributing to the development of the next generation of Alzheimer’s treatments.
Dr. Ben Maruthappu MBE, CEO and Founder of Cera, said:
“Many older adults are currently ‘invisible’ to the clinical trials research system because they cannot access traditional clinic-centric recruitment. By enabling responsible, consented identification and screening within the home, we can bridge the gap between the community and the clinic. We are offering the older generation a seat at the table of global drug discovery, ensuring that the path to a cure starts where they are most comfortable—in their own daily lives.”
Dr Emer MacSweeney, CEO and Founder of Re:Cognition Health, said:
“With one in three people expected to develop dementia in their lifetime, it is essential that we create more inclusive and accessible routes into research. This collaboration enables us to extend our reach beyond traditional clinic settings and ensure that people who may benefit from early assessment and research participation are supported to do so.
“Clinical trials offer individuals access to the most advanced diagnostics and emerging treatments, alongside expert medical oversight. By identifying people earlier and guiding them through every stage of their journey, we can help improve participants’ experience and potential outcomes, while accelerating the development of the next generation of Alzheimer’s therapies.”
This collaboration aligns with national priorities to improve inclusion in research and reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that advances in Alzheimer’s treatment are developed with, and for, the people most affected.
Cera’s Research Programme
Cera’s healthcare research programme was launched in 2024 to improve health outcomes for our ageing population. The programme aims to make it safer and easier for over-65s to take part in clinical trials for conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and stroke.
By involving participants in studies directly from their homes, Cera’s programme removes common barriers to participation in clinical trials, such as the need to travel to healthcare centres, or lack of awareness about the options available.
Cera’s programme is made possible by its pioneering use of technology and its world-leading home healthcare dataset, which is rich with insight into how the population is ageing. Cera’s dataset is powered by an AI-backed app which is used by almost 10,000 carers and nurses across the UK to log patient symptoms and information at each of 2.5 million home healthcare visits they deliver each month.
About Cera
Cera is a digital-first home healthcare company that harnesses technology to bring care directly to people’s homes, transforming the healthcare landscape by providing higher quality services at a fraction of the cost.
Cera’s 10,000 carers and nurses deliver around 2.5 million technology-enabled home healthcare visits a month on behalf of governments, insurers, and the NHS – equivalent in capacity to all NHS A&E departments nationwide – counting a visit every second on average.
Cera is now Europe’s largest HealthTech company and one of its fastest-growing businesses, with c.$500 million in annualised revenues, and 150-fold growth in impact over the past five years. Cera has also gathered the largest home healthcare dataset in Europe, powering the development of cutting-edge AI products that have reduced hospitalisations by up to 70%, saving the UK Government £1.5 million daily.
Cera’s pioneering approach has been recognised by awards including a Newsweek AI Impact Award, the UK Tech Awards’ Tech for Good Prize, Health Tech Digital’s Best Use of Artificial Intelligence, the Deloitte Fast 50 and EY’s prestigious UK Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2024. Cera was recently named by TIME Magazine as one of the World’s Top HealthTech Companies, and has repeatedly been ranked as the UK’s Number 1 HealthTech company.
Cera was co-founded by entrepreneur, physician and policy expert Dr Ben Maruthappu MBE. Its Advisory Board is Chaired by Sir David Behan, the former CEO of the Care Quality Commission.
About Re:Cognition Health
Re:Cognition Health is a pioneering brain and mind clinic specialising in the diagnosis, treatment and care of people showing symptoms of cognitive impairment or mental health concerns. Clinical services include traumatic brain injury, neurology, children’s neurological conditions, Alzheimer’s and dementia, mental health, long Covid and CTE.
Re:Cognition Health Clinics in (UK) Birmingham, Bristol, London, Guildford, Plymouth, Winchester and (USA) Washington DC, Houston, Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth are major centres for international trials of disease-modifying and new symptomatic drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions. The multi-disciplinary team work collaboratively to provide a full-service, patient-centred approach using the latest progressive medical research and evidence-based treatments.
