MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Nov. 18, 2020 — Cognoptix, a leading diagnostics company dedicated to early detection of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), announced today the formation of its new Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with appointment of five world-class scientists and clinical researchers in AD. The SAB includes Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD; Lee E. Goldstein, MD, PhD; Philip Scheltens, MD, PhD; Martin R. Farlow, MD; and Carl H. Sadowsky, MD. Drs. Cummings and Goldstein will serve as SAB Clinical and Science Chairs, respectively.
The SAB will work closely with the Cognoptix management team to advance clinical testing of the Sapphire II drug-device combination eye scanner for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. The Sapphire II eye scanner detects Alzheimer’s disease amyloid pathology in the lens of the eye. “We are pleased to have attracted a strong team of leaders in the field to support Cognoptix as it advances to the pivotal stage clinical testing of this potentially transformative for early detection of Alzheimer’s,” says Dr. Susanne Wilke, President & CEO of Cognoptix. The Company believes the Sapphire II platform has the potential to transform very early disease detection, possibly before onset of cognitive symptoms, when emerging treatments are expected to most effective and enduring.
“Cognoptix has a unique and powerful approach to detect the key biomarker β-amyloid in the lens for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Cummings.
“The formation of this SAB represents a strong endorsement of the foundational science and clinical results that are driving the company’s innovative approach,” commented Dr. Goldstein.
Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings, MD, ScD serves as Director of the Chamber-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is Director Emeritus of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Dr. Cummings is the originator of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), a widely used clinical test battery that has been translated in over 75 languages and used around the world to assess and monitor dementia-related symptoms. Dr. Cummings has been recognized for his research leadership in Alzheimer’s with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alzheimer’s Association and is a recipient of numerous other honors, including from the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology, American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry, International Society of CNS Drug Development, and the American Geriatrics Society. Dr. Cummings will serve as the SAB’s Clinical Chair.
Dr. Lee E. Goldstein, MD, PhD is the Co-Founder of Cognoptix. While a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Goldstein discovered Alzheimer’s pathology in the lens of the eye, the first evidence of the disease outside the brain. Now at Boston University School of Medicine, his team established the molecular basis of Alzheimer’s pathology in the lens and relationship to the brain. He directs the Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory and co-leads the Biomarker Core of the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Boston University Center for Translational Neuroimaging. Dr. Goldstein’s research provided the foundational science that underpins Cognoptix’s mission and Sapphire II technology. Dr. Goldstein has received awards from the Alzheimer’s Association, American Federation for Aging Research, Optical Society of America, National Institutes of Health, Harvard Medical School, and Oxford University. Dr. Goldstein will serve as the SAB’s Science Chair.
Dr. Philip Scheltens, MD, PhD is Director of the Alzheimer Center at the Vrije Universiteit Medical Center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dr. Scheltens is recognized as a research leader in Alzheimer’s biomarkers and a major contributor to development of new diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease that are used in clinical trials worldwide. He is active in the brain imaging and CSF biomarker fields and has been the principal investigator for national and international multicenter clinical studies in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Martin R. Farlow, MD is the Co-Director of the Indiana University Alzheimer’s Disease Center and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Farlow clinically characterized and contributed to identifying genetic defects in familial dementias, including mutations associated with autosomal dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease, Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease, and familial multiple system tauopathy with presenile dementia. He is a founding member of the American Society of Experimental Neurotherapeutics and the International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology. Dr. Farlow was a major contributor to developing Aricept, a commonly prescribed medication for Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Carl H. Sadowsky, MD was the founding Director of Research at Palm Beach Neurology and Premiere Research Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, a nationally recognized clinical research group focused on Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Sadowsky has conducted more than 300 Alzheimer’s clinical trials, including the amyloid PET Amyvid and other major trials in the field. Dr. Sadowsky was one of the first to study and report on the safety and efficacy of the Cognoptix Sapphire II system to detect β-amyloid in the human lens. Dr. Sadowsky serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Cognoptix.
This announcement follows and is part of a corporate restructuring that commenced with appointment of Dr. Susanne Wilke, PhD, as CEO and a successful Series R financing round of $2.6 million.
For more information on Cognoptix, visit: https://cognoptix.com.
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