PITTSBURGH, November 4, 2019 — Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage neuroscience company focused on the protection and restoration of synaptic function in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, today announced that James M. O’Brien has joined the Company as chief financial officer. Mr. O’Brien has over 25 years of experience in financial management and control in a wide range of public and private life sciences companies. He will report to President and CEO Kenneth I. Moch.
“Jim brings an extensive and diverse financial skill set to Cognition and is ideally suited to help us expand and evolve the Company,” stated Mr. Moch. “His addition as CFO is an essential step in our continued evolution and will be invaluable as we progress with the development of our lead Alzheimer’s disease candidate, Elayta™.”
“I am extremely impressed with the growth of Cognition over the past years, both in the development of Elayta and in the approach to raising dilutive and non-dilutive capital,” Mr. O’Brien stated. “Cognition’s team has advanced along a path that has brought the Company and Elayta to a forefront position in the Alzheimer’s disease field. I am very excited to join the Company and help build it into a leading neuroscience company that brings important medicines to patients worldwide.”
Mr. O’Brien has a track record of performance in capital raising and business development, strategic planning, acquisitions and operations at public as well as entrepreneurial private companies in the life sciences. Prior to joining Cognition, he served as the executive vice president of finance at Enzo Biochem, Inc., (NYSE:ENZ). Before Enzo, Mr. O’Brien was vice president and corporate controller at Actavis PLC (now Allergan, Inc.), where he integrated several international business acquisitions and managed collaboration activities valued at nearly $10 billion. Earlier in his career, he held positions with increasing responsibilities at life sciences companies including Nycomed and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and spent close to a decade at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. O’Brien is a certified public accountant (CPA) with a Bachelor of Accountancy from George Washington University and a Master of Business Administration from Fordham University.
About Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.
Cognition Therapeutics is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing small-molecule therapeutics that address the toxic oligomeric proteins that cause synapse degeneration and trigger neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Cognition’s lead candidate, Elayta™, is a novel first-in-class, orally available small molecule that in initial clinical studies has shown the potential to normalize protein trafficking and lipid metabolism pathways that are disrupted in Alzheimer’s disease and to allow the protection and restoration of synapses. Elayta is currently being tested for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease in three Phase 2 clinical studies: SPARC (Synaptic Protection for Alzheimer’s Restoration of Cognition); SNAP (AβO Displacement from Synapses on Neurons in Alzheimer’s Patients); and SHINE (Synaptic Health and Improvement of Neurological Function with Elayta). These studies are supported by grants (award numbers RF1AG057780, RF1AG057553 and R01AG058660) from the National Institute on Aging of the NIH. Elayta has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. FDA.
Elayta and Cognition’s other pipeline candidates were identified using the company’s disease-relevant screening and novel chemistry platforms. Additional information about Cognition and its product candidates may be found online at www.cogrx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” concerning the development and commercialization of Cognition’s products, the potential benefits and attributes of such products, and Cognition’s expectations regarding its prospects. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. These statements are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results may vary. Cognition undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements for any reason.