The FDA recently approved the first prescription video game. The a16z bio Journal Club covers one of the key clinical trials that supported this FDA decision and discusses the evidence showing that this game can have a measurable impact on the attention impairments seen in children with ADHD.

The FDA just approved the first ever videogame that can now be legally marketed and prescribed as a medicine. It's a game called EndeavorRX (formerly known as Project EVO and developed by Akili Interactive based on technology licensed from a neuroscience lab at the University of California San Francisco) -- and is for 8-12 year olds with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. So where does this fit in the broader category of "digital therapeutics"? We debate and discuss all this in this week's episode of 16 Minutes on the News, with a16z partners Vijay Pande and Justin Larkin (former physician and entrepreneur who was most recently at Google Verily) and external guest Nikhil Krishnan (who covered digital health as an analyst at CB Insights, and now publishes the industry newsletter Out of Pocket).

Editor’s note: This article is based on an episode of the a16z Podcast, which you can listen to here. 

The U.S. mental health system is under tremendous strain. Depression is now the leading cause of disability in the U.S. One in four Americans suffered from a diagnosable mental disorder in the last year, most of which we...

watch time: 13 minutes

Editor’s Note: Vijay Pande (“pahn-day”) is Andreessen Horowitz’ newest General Partner, dedicated to our new bio fund.