The BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index showed signs of recovery in August, narrowing its year-to-date decline to 14.31%, compared to a steeper drop of 22.34% at the end of May. Momentum shifted notably over the summer, with 17 of the 20 component companies posting gains between June and August. This marks a reversal from May, when 15 of the 20 stocks were in the red.
The BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index continued its downward slide into 2025, with 15 of the 20 component stocks posting losses. After dipping into negative territory in late February, the index dropped 15.99% by the end of March and closed May down 22.34%.
Cognition Therapeutics Inc. evolved from the work of a neuroscientist and a chemist working in the San Francisco Bay area, seeking out targets to block the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Since the company’s 2007 inception, it has received close to $200 million in U.S. NIH grant funding. Investors often tell CEO Lisa Ricciardi, who joined the company in 2020: “’That’s because you have a relationship with the FDA.’ Well, no. It’s because it’s competitive” and the company’s research has met the muster. “You have to apply two or three times. … It’s with rigor that these results are generated and that we’re able to get more funding.”
Sigma-2 receptor modulation using exogenous ligands reduces cellular damage associated with central nervous system degeneration in age-related pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or dry age-related macular degeneration. Researchers from Cognition Therapeutics Inc. described the neuroprotective effect of CT-2074, a sigma-2 receptor in preclinical models of open-angle glaucoma.
Investors will get more details during the International Lewy Body Dementia Conference in Amsterdam late next month, but Wall Street is already buzzing about Cognition Therapeutics Inc.’s data from the phase II study with CT-1812 in dementia with Lewy bodies.
Despite government efforts to prop up biopharma and med-tech research toward creating women’s health products, companies must eventually reach out to the private markets to bring their inventions to the next stage of development. Anna Zornosa-Heymann, a women’s health investor, serves as a part-time contractor with the U.S. NIH’s SEED (Small business Education & Entrepreneurial Development) office, where she helps companies move from government to external funding. Government funds are “excellent to pay for research … but those funds don’t allow you to build a first-class team and to develop a sales apparatus,” she told BioWorld.
Cognition Therapeutics Inc. said it is moving to the next stage of clinical testing with oral, small-molecule candidate CT-1812, despite phase II efficacy results falling short of statistical significance in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and sending shares of the Purchase, N.Y.-based company (NASDAQ:CGTX) falling 44%, or $1.04, to close July 29 at $1.33.
With early phase II trial data from Cognition Therapeutics Inc.’s lead candidate, CT-1812, for Alzheimer’s disease expected in mid-2024, the firm is hoping to raise $11.5 million from an underwritten public offering of about 6.6 million shares, priced at $1.75 each.
With the latest data from the phase II Sequel study, Cognition Therapeutics Inc. added new physiological evidence for the neuroprotective effect of CT-1812 in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) bolstering earlier results related to target engagement and the compound’s impact on cognitive changes. But the results failed to hit statistical significance, and shares of New York-based Cognition (NASDAQ:CGTX) closed June 28 at $2.18, down 32 cents, almost 13%.
