Cognition Therapeutics Receives Grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation to Support Development of Sigma-2 Receptor Modulator for Parkinson’s Disease


NEW YORK, Jan. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGTX), a clinical-stage neuroscience company developing drugs that treat age-related degenerative diseases, today announced that the company has been awarded a Therapeutic Pipeline Program Grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). This grant will fund preclinical studies of two sigma-2 (σ-2) receptor modulators in animal models of Parkinson’s disease that will be led by Cognition Therapeutics’ VP of research, Mary E. Hamby, Ph.D.

“There is a need to discover and develop novel therapeutics for Parkinson’s disease, for which no disease-modifying therapies exist,” explained Anthony Caggiano, M.D., Ph.D., Cognition Therapeutics’ chief medical officer. “Targeting the σ-2 receptor for Parkinson’s disease is a promising, potentially disease-modifying therapeutic approach. We intend to investigate two σ-2 receptor modulators in our research pipeline to determine their impact on biomarkers of disease progression. If successful, these studies would provide proof of concept to support the subsequent clinical development of a σ-2 modulator for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.”

Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies such as dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are associated with a build-up of α-synuclein oligomers that bind to neurons where they impair critical cellular processes, causing synaptic dysfunction and eventual loss. Published in vitro studies conducted by Cognition scientists found that the binding and internalization of α-synuclein oligomers in cultured neurons was inhibited by the addition of a σ-2 receptor antagonist (Limegrover et al, 2021). The studies supported by this MJFF Therapeutic Pipeline Program grant will seek to confirm and build upon the findings from Cognition’s earlier preclinical research.

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 diseases and disorders of the central nervous system, or CNS, and retina. Our goal is to develop disease modifying treatments for patients with these degenerative disorders by initially leveraging our expertise in the sigma-2 (σ-2) receptor, which is expressed by multiple cell types, including neuronal synapses, and acts as a key regulator of cellular damage commonly associated with certain age-related degenerative diseases of the CNS and retina. We believe that targeting the σ-2 receptor complex represents a mechanism that is functionally distinct from other current approaches in clinical development for the treatment of degenerative diseases. Additional information about Cognition and its product candidates may be found online at www.cogrx.com.

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Contact Information:
Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.
info@cogrx.com

Aline Sherwood (media)
Scienta Communications
asherwood@scientapr.com

Lisa Sher (investors)
Tiberend Strategic Advisors
lsher@tiberend.com