Pittsburgh, April 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage neuroscience company focused on the protection and restoration of synaptic function in neurodegenerative diseases and disorders caused by membrane trafficking dysfunction, today announced that Mary Sano, Ph.D. of Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Philip Scheltens, M.D., Ph.D. of the VU Medical Center (VUmc) Alzheimer’s Center in Amsterdam have accepted appointments to the Company’s Medical Advisory Board.
“Drs. Sano and Scheltens have shown a keen understanding and appreciation of our scientific approach and will provide valuable insights as we advance Elayta™ though the ongoing Phase 2 SPARC, SNAP and SHINE studies,” stated Chief Science Office Susan Catalano, Ph.D. “Their commitment to Cognition Therapeutics is an important validation of our scientific approach and speaks to the potential of our clinical programs.”
President and CEO Kenneth I. Moch added, “Ensuring access to a rich core of medical and scientific thought leaders is crucial as we evolve as a company. Drs. Sano’s and Scheltens’ unique perspective and deep experience in the research and development of innovative treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, combined with our in-house expertise, will be of great assistance as we chart the clinical development trajectory for Elayta.”
Dr. Sano is a professor of psychiatry and the director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a comprehensive research facility dedicated to the study and treatment of normal aging and Alzheimer’s disease. She is also the director of research and development at the James J. Peters Veterans Administration Hospital in the Bronx. Dr. Sano has a long history of research in clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment of aging. She was a founding member of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) and is a current partner in the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC). Her most recent work describes a home-based assessment using different technologies to assess memory and thinking. Dr. Sano is a past member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of the Alzheimer’s Association and the current president of the International Psychogeriatric Association. She is also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award from Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD).
Dr. Scheltens is a professor of cognitive neurology at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center (VUmc) in Amsterdam and serves as director of the VUmc Alzheimer Center. He also holds the position of honorary professor of neurology at University College London. His main clinical and research interests are Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, structural and functional imaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. Beyond his responsibilities at VUmc, Dr. Scheltens serves as vice president of Deltaplan Dementia Netherlands, a private-public partnership he founded that aims to address and manage the growing problem of dementia in The Netherlands. He is also an active member of several professional societies, serves as the co-editor-in-chief of Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy and is a member of the board of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
About Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.
Cognition Therapeutics is a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing proprietary small-molecule therapeutics to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases caused by membrane trafficking dysfunction.
Cognition’s lead candidate, Elayta™, is a novel first-in-class, orally available small molecule that in initial clinical studies has shown the potential to normalize protein trafficking and lipid metabolism pathways that are disrupted in Alzheimer’s disease and to allow the protection and restoration of synapses. Elayta is currently being tested for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease in three Phase 2 clinical studies: SPARC (Synaptic Protection for Alzheimer’s Restoration of Cognition); SNAP (AβO Displacement from Synapses on Neurons in Alzheimer’s Patients); and SHINE (Synaptic Health and Improvement of Neurological Function with Elayta). These studies are supported by grants (award numbers RF1AG057780, RF1AG057553 and R01AG058660) from the National Institute on Aging of the NIH. Elayta has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. FDA.
Elayta and Cognition’s other pipeline candidates were identified using the company’s disease-relevant screening and novel chemistry platforms. Additional information about Cognition and its product candidates may be found online at http://www.cogrx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” concerning the development and commercialization of Cognition’s products, the potential benefits and attributes of such products, and Cognition’s expectations regarding its prospects. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. Cognition undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.