PURCHASE, N.Y., April 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., (the “Company” or “Cognition”) (NASDAQ: CGTX), a clinical stage company developing drugs that treat neurodegenerative disorders, provided a recap of the virtual KOL event hosted on April 12, 2024 featuring Martin J. Sadowski, MD, PhD, DSci of the NYU School of Medicine; Anton Porsteinsson, MD of the University of Rochester Alzheimer's Disease Care, Research and Education Program; and Everard (Jort) Vijverberg, MD, PhD of the Alzheimer Center Amsterdam and Neuroscience Amsterdam.

“The KOL roundtable we conducted featured a panel of Alzheimer’s disease expert clinicians and researchers who highlighted the need to find Alzheimer’s disease treatments that are less burdensome for patients and their care partners,” said Lisa Ricciardi, Cognition’s president and CEO. “They reinforced the importance of removing toxic oligomers as an important step in slowing the progress of Alzheimer’s disease and highlighted the need for new treatment modalities to use alone or in conjunction with the currently approved treatments.”

The KOLs shared their perspectives on the currently approved immunotherapies for early Alzheimer’s disease, including perception of their effectiveness in targeting plaque, impact of amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) on commercial uptake, and the clinical meaningfulness of the reported changes in disease progression. Dr. Sadowski explained that “removal of the plaques in patients with Alzheimer’s disease ... changes things a lot, but it's not enough.” He continued, suggesting that improved outcomes from beta amyloid (Aβ) antibodies may be achievable, but “we would need to have some other agents that can be given in tandem with beta amyloid therapies or as a sequel to beta amyloid therapies.”

Dr. Porsteinsson agreed, noting “a pretty remarkable clearance of Aβ plaques with [the currently approved therapies].” However, he explained, "even if the humanized monoclonal antibodies targeting beta amyloid plaques become well established, they won't meet the need of all patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.”

In addition to the direct engagement of Aβ plaque, other processes that were discussed in the KOL event were neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation and neuro-regeneration, which are biological processes associated with Alzheimer’s disease progression. In order to improve upon the outcomes observed with monoclonal antibody monotherapy, options may include drugs that address these secondary biological processes, which are driven by toxic aggregated Aβ oligomers, oxidative stress and inflammation. Dr. Porsteinsson pointed to one such candidate, Cognition’s CT1812, which he observed displaces “oligomers or prevents them from binding to neurons, clears them to the cerebrospinal fluid and through that prevents the synaptic toxicity and ... the impact on neuronal function. In fact, in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease, it was able to restore cognitive deficits.”

CT1812 is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease, including the START study for adults with MCI and early Alzheimer's, and the SHINE study for people with mild-to-moderate disease. The SHINE study enrolled participants in the U.S. and several countries in Europe including The Netherlands. Dr. Vijverberg, the primary investigator at UMC Amsterdam, explained his experience with CT1812 in both the SHINE study, which has completed enrollment, and the SEQUEL study, which concluded in 2023.

Dr. Vijverberg reviewed the design of the SHINE study and the results of the preliminary analysis of the first 24 patients who finished six months of treatment. “We see in the 24 patients that we already analyzed that there was a three-point difference on the ADAS Cog 11.” He continued, “Of course, it's preliminary, however together with the SEQUEL where we saw quick response in synaptic health, it's exciting to see cognition [going] in the right direction in this group of patients.”

Cognition expects to report topline results from the SHINE study in mid-2024.

An archive of the KOL roundtable discussion is available on the News & Events page of the Investors section of the Cognition website or may be accessed directly at the following URL: https://lifescievents.com/event/cognition/.

About CT1812
CT1812 is an experimental orally delivered small molecule sigma-2 (σ-2) receptor modulator designed to penetrate the blood-retinal barrier and bind selectively and saturably to the σ-2 receptor complex. The σ-2 receptor complex is involved in the regulation of key cellular processes such as membrane trafficking and autophagy that are damaged by toxic interaction with soluble beta amyloid (Aβ) oligomers, oxidative stress and other stressors. Cognition’s clinical program will assess if regulating these processes by modulating the σ-2 receptor with CT1812 can maintain homeostatic function.

About Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.
Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative, small molecule therapeutics targeting age-related degenerative disorders of the central nervous system and retina. We are currently investigating our lead candidate CT1812 in clinical programs in Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD). We believe CT1812 and our pipeline of σ-2 receptor modulators can regulate pathways that are impaired in these diseases. We believe that targeting the σ-2 receptor with CT1812 represents a mechanism functionally distinct from other current approaches in clinical development for the treatment of degenerative diseases. More about Cognition Therapeutics and its pipeline can be found at https://cogrx.com 

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