Photo courtesy of Cognito Therapeutics
Cognito Therapeutics, a company using visual and auditory stimulation to treat neurodegenerative disorders, announced it closed an oversubscribed $105 million Series C funding round.
Morningside Ventures, IAG Capital Partners and Starbloom Capital led the round, with participation from new investors Apollo Health Ventures and Benvolio Group, New Vintage and others.
WHAT IT DOES
Cognito offers an investigational therapeutic platform dubbed Spectris, which is prescribed by physicians and used by patients at home to help "evoke coordinated neural activity, across interconnected networks, through non-invasive visual and auditory stimulation," the company said.
The platform engages an Alzheimer's patient's neural network through natural sensory pathways with the goal of improving cognition and daily functioning, according to Cognito.
The HOPE pivotal study, which analyzes Spectris AD Therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, is currently underway and fully enrolled, with data results expected later this year.
Cognito said the funding will be used to advance pivotal study data readout, prepare for FDA submission, support ongoing clinical development of Spectris and advance anticipated commercialization of the product for Alzheimer's disease in 2027.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company will also work to expand the Spectris platform into additional neurodegenerative indications through its collaborators, including WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.
"Cognito represents a rare convergence of rigorous neuroscience research, clinical validation, elegant engineering, and a deep understanding of patient needs," Gerald Chan, founder of Morningside Ventures and chairman of the board at Cognito, said in a statement.
"Spectris has the potential to redefine how a broad category of neurodegenerative diseases are treated, by moving therapy into the home, reducing burden on patients and caregivers, and scaling impact globally. We are proud to continue supporting Cognito as it advances toward regulatory submission and broader clinical impact."
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Last year, Cognito announced the launch of the Brain Health Collaboratory alongside the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, to accelerate the discovery, validation and delivery of non-drug neurotherapies.
In 2023, the neurotechnology company garnered $73 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raise at the time to $93 million.
A year earlier, the company raised $50 million in funding and announced data showing that its proprietary gamma-sensory stimulation reduced white matter atrophy in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
The company also announced in 2022 a strategic partnership with Aetion, a startup focused on real-world evidence in healthcare, to develop a predictive model to identify patients with mild but rapidly progressing cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
Cognito received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2021 for its non-invasive neurostimulation device.
