STAT+: Verge Labs’ new AI model solves patient stratification problems for neurology clinical trials

STAT PlusBiotech Verge Labs’ new AI model solves patient stratification problems for neurology clinical trials The company formerly known as Verge Genomics pivoted after the clinical trial its ALS drug failed Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Brittany TrangJune 16, 2026 Health Tech Reporter Brittany Trang[email protected]Brittany Trang, Ph.D., covers AI in health and medicine: Does it actually work? Who benefits, or might be harmed? She writes the weekly AI Prognosis newsletter. Follow her on Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky. You can reach Brittany on Signal at btrang.01. As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Or as Verge Labs might put it, one company’s failed clinical trial … is that same company’s new AI benchmarking dataset. Over a decade ago, Alice Zhang co-founded Verge Genomics with the idea that by looking at the network of genes causing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, ALS, or Alzheimer’s, the company would be able to come up with better drugs. The company did target discovery work, for example, coming up with two targets that Eli Lilly nominated to its internal pipeline in 2024. Verge also had its own pipeline, where it was pursuing an ALS drug — that is, until its Phase 1b trial failed last month.Advertisement The company published a postmortem explaining what exactly went wrong with the trial, in which a third of the patients dropped out because they could not tolerate the drug. “While the temptation is strong, when a trial doesn’t meet the anticipated end points, to kind of look away and not talk about it, we think there are a lot of learnings that can come — not just for us, but for the field and for ALS broadly — that’s really important to share. That’s not done very often,” Zhang told STAT in an interview. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus daily coverage and analysis of the biotech sector — by subscribing to STAT+. Already have an account? Log in Monthly $39 Totals $468 per year $39/month Get Started Totals $468 per year Starter $30 for 3 months, then $399/year $30 for 3 months Get Started Then $399/year Annual $399 Save 15% $399/year Get Started Save 15% 11+ Users Custom Savings start at 25%! Request A Quote Request A Quote Savings start at 25%! 2-10 Users $300 Annually per user $300/year Get Started $300 Annually per user View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Log In ALS, Alzheimer’s, biotechnology, Clinical trials, drug development, neuroscience, Parkinsons, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Brittany Trang Health Tech Reporter Brittany Trang, Ph.D., covers AI in health and medicine: Does it actually work? Who benefits, or might be harmed? She writes the weekly AI Prognosis newsletter. Follow her on Threads, Mastodon, and Bluesky. You can reach Brittany on Signal at btrang.01. STAT+ Newsletter A hitchhiker's guide to the health care AI galaxy Recommended The Readout June 16, 2026 STAT Plus: ARCH-launched Neumora stops depression program Politics June 15, 2026 STAT Plus: Trump’s obesity drug plan creates a temporary Medicare program that may be hard to end Advertisement Health June 15, 2026 Covid vaccination cut risk of adverse heart events, large study finds The Readout June 15, 2026 STAT Plus: Lilly’s Ajax acquisition may have been worth it The Readout June 12, 2026 STAT Plus: Prometheus raises $12 billion in capital for artificial engineers Subscriber Picks