Israeli startup develops blood test to personalize antidepressant treatment

For 21-year-old Michaela, depression has been a lifelong battle. “I’ve been suffering since I was about 13,” she says. “It was really difficult just to get through the day. I felt hopeless and unable to function normally.”

Michaela has tried seven different psychiatric medications without success, leaving her with what doctors call treatment-resistant depression. The repeated trial-and-error approach, she says, only added to her sense of defeat.

Now, she is about to try a revolutionary approach. Israeli startup Neurokaire has developed a blood test that can predict how an individual’s brain will respond to different antidepressants—before the patient even takes them.

Dr. Talia Cohen Solal, co-founder of Neurokaire, explains: “We take a patient’s blood, convert the cells into stem cells, and then grow neurons. This creates a personalized ‘brain in a dish’ so we can see how specific antidepressants impact that patient’s biology.”

Traditionally, depression has been treated as a condition to simply “push through.” But science now recognizes that it is rooted in biology. At Neurokaire, doctors can observe exactly how depression affects brain connectivity and which drugs can restore balance.

“Once we generate the neurons, we can image them and see how they connect,” says Dr. Cohen Solal. “The stronger the connections, the more effective the drug is for that patient.”

Globally, more than 300 million people live with depression, and hundreds of millions of antidepressant prescriptions are written each year. Yet nearly two-thirds of patients do not respond to the first drug they try. The process remains largely trial and error, with potentially dangerous consequences: “Every time you switch antidepressants, the risk of suicidality increases,” Dr. Cohen Solal notes.

Currently, the Neurokaire test costs around $1,000, but insurance covers up to 85% in both Israel and the United States. The system has recently received Medicare and Medicaid approval in the U.S., a milestone that could make personalized antidepressant matching widely available.

The technology, seven years in the making, is the work of stem-cell researcher Dr. Cohen Solal and personalized-medicine expert Dr. Daphna Laifenfeld. They hope their approach will not only transform depression treatment but eventually aid in developing therapies for ADHD, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s.

Dr. Laifenfeld emphasizes the uniqueness of each patient: “It’s almost ridiculous to assume that everyone will respond the same way to the same medication. One-size-fits-all medicine doesn’t fit the reality of human biology.”

For Michaela, the test represents more than science—it’s hope. “I’m really hopeful that this test and the technology it uses is going to make a big change in mental health—and for myself,” she says.