CAMBRIDGE, Mass.– Cognito Therapeutics, a neurotechnology company advancing disease-modifying therapies to treat CNS diseases, announced today a $73M Series B financing round led by FoundersX Ventures with participation from all existing investors. New investors Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), Starbloom Capital, IAG Capital and WS Investment Company (Wilson Sonsini’s venture arm) joined the round. The Series B funding brings the total amount raised since inception to $93 million.
In addition to the financing, Dr. Rick Kuntz, MD, MSc, former Senior Vice President, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of Medtronic and Helen Liang, Founder & Managing Partner at FoundersX, will join Cognito’s Board of Directors. Dr. Kuntz spent 17 years at Medtronic, where he initially led the company’s neuromodulation business and then corporate technology and clinical research. Prior to Medtronic, he was the founder and chief scientific officer of the Harvard Clinical Research Institute, now the Baim Institute, a university-based contract research organization which coordinates National Institutes of Health (NIH) and industry clinical trials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The funding will advance Cognito’s pivotal study of its non-invasive neuromodulation device, which delivers proprietary gamma frequency light and sound stimulation intended to treat Alzheimer’s Disease. In a prior Phase 2 clinical trial, Cognito’s device demonstrated a significant slowing in functional and cognitive decline in the treatment group, as well as a significant decline in brain atrophy over a six-month period. To further demonstrate the efficacy of the device, Cognito is currently enrolling patients in its pivotal clinical trial HOPE for Alzheimer’s Disease, across approximately 50 clinical centers in the United States with a target enrollment of 500 patients.
“Alzheimer’s disease continues to be one of world’s largest public health problems, afflicting more than 55 million individuals globally. There is an urgent need to develop novel therapies that can safely delay the onset and progression of these neurodegenerative conditions,” said Brent Vaughan, CEO, Cognito Therapeutics. “This funding will accelerate development of Cognito’s home-based wearable device which has the potential to be a novel, safe, disease-modifying therapeutic approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases, starting with Alzheimer’s. I am also delighted to welcome Dr. Kuntz to our team. His experience as the CMO and CSO of Medtronic, where he was instrumental in building their leading neuroscience medical device business will be extremely helpful to Cognito as we advance our technology for the millions of patients with neurological disorders.”
“Abnormalities in the brain’s electrophysiology represent exciting novel targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases,” said Dr. Kuntz, Board Member at Cognito Therapeutics. “By broadening the therapeutic target from specific proteins to the underlying neuronal pathophysiology, Cognito’s proprietary approach has shown that it can fundamentally alter disease processes and potentially achieve disease modification unique from more traditional approaches. I look forward to working with the Cognito team to drive this technology forward for the benefit of patients worldwide.”
“A non-drug neuromodulation intervention has the potential to better address the complex nature of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Cognito is well-positioned to be a leader in this new paradigm,” said Helen Liang, Founder & Managing Partner, FoundersX Ventures. “Cognito is a pioneer at the unique intersection of biology and technology in using neuromodulation to potentially alter the trajectory of neurodegenerative diseases, and we’re thrilled to support the advancement of this pivotal study in Alzheimer’s.”
