What To Know About President Trump’s Cognitive Test

In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we explore President Trump’s cognitive test, Nvidia’s collaborations in life sciences and drug development, Cobot’s hospital robots, and more. To receive it in your inbox, subscribe here.

President Trump informed reporters on Monday that he had successfully completed a cognitive test, drawing comparisons to two younger Democrats, both of whom are non-white women. “The first couple of questions are easy. A tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know. When you get up to about five or six, and then when you get up to 10 and 20 and 25, they couldn’t come close to answering any of those questions,” he said.

Trump, 79, seemed to be referencing a 10-minute test known as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, commonly used to identify mild cognitive decline and early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. These tests are not typically administered to the general public, but are usually given to adults experiencing memory issues or to those with concerned family members. Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which has a genetic component.

In his statements this week, Trump also mentioned undergoing an MRI, stating that “it was perfect,” but did not specify the reason for it or if it was related to the cognitive test. Brain MRIs can aid in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases and tracking their progression, but Trump did not provide details about the MRI, and there are various other body parts that could be scanned and reasons for doing so.

The White House did not respond to inquiries about the MRI or cognitive exam.

This is not the first instance of Trump boasting about acing a cognitive test. In 2020, Trump notably went on television to discuss how he remembered a group of five words – Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV – in the correct order. The appearance led to memes and merchandise featuring the five words.

There has been ongoing discussion both within the White House medical team and the broader medical community regarding how presidents should be evaluated for office, both cognitively and physically, former White House physician Jeffrey Kuhlman wrote in a New York Times op-ed last year. “While nearly all physical difficulties can be accommodated, cognitive impairments are a different issue,” Kuhlman wrote. “A president must be in top mental shape to evaluate a complex situation, form a plan, consider the alternatives and possible consequences to a decision, and then provide definitive directives in a timely manner.”

Nvidia Expands Its Healthcare Ambitions

Tech giant Nvidia, which became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market cap today, announced a series of partnerships this week with healthcare companies to use AI for drug development and in the life sciences.

One major development: pharma giant Eli Lilly teamed up with Nvidia to build what the two are calling an “AI factory.” This supercomputer, built on more than 1,000 of Nvidia’s chips, will operate out of Lilly’s existing data center in Indianapolis. This machine will build new AI drug discovery models based on Lilly’s proprietary data and will also be tasked with automating manufacturing and optimizing clinical trials.

Other collaborations include ones with Alphabet subsidiary Verily, which will integrate Nvidia’s AI tech into its precision health platform Pre; with Johnson & Johnson, which will use Nvidia’s AI models to help train its surgical robots; and with Innovaccer, which is partnering with the tech giant to accelerate development of multimodal AI models for healthcare.

Nvidia is also expanding its collaboration with academic partners to utilize AI in advancing life sciences research, including with more open source research models. These include CodonFM, used for developing RNA medicines; La-Proteina, which generates 3D protein structures; and a trio of models used for medical imaging. It also expanded its partnership with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to develop virtual cell models for use by the scientific community.

BIOTECH AND PHARMA

Novartis has agreed to acquire Avidity Biosciences for $12 billion to obtain its dystrophy drugs, which are currently in late-stage trials. This deal marks the second-largest biotech acquisition of the year, following J&J’s $14.6 billion acquisition of central-nervous system drugmaker Intra-Cellular Therapies in January. Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan justified the price during an investor call on Monday, stating that if the company had waited for data, the deal size could have been “potentially twice as big.”

Additionally: GHO Capital has raised $2.9 billion for a new healthcare fund focused on biopharma, medtech, life sciences tools, and other healthcare areas. This new capital brings GHO’s total assets to around $10.5 billion, making it Europe’s largest healthcare-focused private equity firm.

Moreover: BridgeBio has reported success in a second late-stage study for its therapy for a rare endocrine disorder, and the FDA has approved expanding the label for Merck’s potential blockbuster Winrevair to include its ability to reduce patients’ risk of hospitalization and death from pulmonary arterial hypertension.

DIGITAL HEALTH AND AI

AI pharmaceutical company Recursion has received its second milestone payment of $30 million from partners Roche and Genentech for developing a whole-genome map of microglial immune cells. These cells are found in the central nervous system, and the aim is for this data to offer new potential drug targets for various neurological disorders. This payment is part of a deal, valued at up to $12 billion, that Recursion made with the two pharmaceutical companies in 2021.

Furthermore: Curve Biosciences, which is constructing a digital “atlas” of the human body based on its collection of tissues from multiple organs and disease states, has raised $40 million in funding led by life sciences investor Luma Group to commercialize its software for diagnosing and monitoring chronic diseases. The San Mateo, California-based company was valued at $35 million last year, according to PitchBook; however, it did not disclose its current valuation.

MEDTECH

Brad Porter, who played a key role in Amazon’s deployment of over 500,000 warehouse robots, founded Collaborative Robots, or Cobot, three and a half years ago to introduce more robots into the world. One early customer (and investor): Mayo Clinic. Handling tasks at hospitals requires significant time and manpower, and the fast-paced hospital environment can lead to congested hallways and delayed surgeries. “There’s a lot of material movement in hospitals, and it’s done 24/7. Hospitals struggle to find enough staff to handle all of it,” Porter told Forbes. “”

Initially, Cobot’s robots can transport linen and food carts, as well as deliver surgical tools to the sterilization room and back. Based in Santa Clara, California, the company has raised $140 million from investors including Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, and Mayo Clinic. Cobot is not just focused on hospitals; it has also collaborated with shipping giant Maersk, vaccine manufacturer Moderna, and healthcare logistics company Owens & Minor.

This aspect of robotics may not be glamorous, but the potential impact on hospitals, where profit margins are slim, could be revolutionary. “If you are a surgeon and you know you have a back-to-back schedule all day, and