WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and Cognito Therapeutics Launch Brain Health Collaboratory to Accelerate Neurotherapies with AI-powered Research

First in a national network of Brain Health Collaboratories integrating care, research, and commercialization

Real-world, AI-enabled clinical platform to accelerate development of neuroprotective therapies

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cognito Therapeutics and the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI), announced today the launch of the first Brain Health Collaboratory, a new model designed to accelerate the discovery, validation, and real-world delivery of non-drug neurotherapies.

By merging clinical care, AI-powered research, and continuous data generation into a single, learning healthcare ecosystem, this pioneering initiative aims to transform how neurodegenerative diseases, cognitive decline, and brain injuries are studied and treated.

At the core of this initiative is Spectris™, Cognito’s investigational, non-invasive neuroprotective device designed for at-home use. Spectris™ has shown early promise in preserving brain structure and function in Alzheimer’s and may hold potential across a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and addiction.

The Brain Health Collaboratory builds upon RNI's world-class ecosystem that integrates comprehensive multidisciplinary patient care with a robust infrastructure and culture for rapid cycle innovation and translational research. Spectris will integrate into RNI's clinical workflows, enabling real-time therapy delivery, data collection, and adaptive learning. The Collaboratory also supports full-stack research and development from pre-clinical to clinical trials, health economics and outcomes research (HEOR), real-world data (RWD) analytics, and commercialization planning.

“We are proud to launch this pioneering partnership with Cognito Therapeutics,” said Ali Rezai, M.D., executive chair of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. “This Collaboratory brings together two institutions committed to rapidly advancing the treatment of neurological disease. RNI’s legacy in translational research makes us uniquely suited to help realize the full potential of Spectris from early discovery through system-wide implementation.”

“This is a rare inflection point where science, technology, and healthcare systems converge to transform how we treat brain disease,” said Christian Howell, CEO of Cognito Therapeutics. “Spectris has the potential to change millions of lives, but realizing that promise requires bold, global collaboration and entirely new models of evidence generation. The Brain Health Collaboratory embodies that vision.”

The WVU Collaboratory is the first in a planned national network of Brain Health Collaboratories that Cognito Therapeutics will establish with leading academic medical centers. Together, these centers will form a new infrastructure for brain health, one that is proactive, data-driven, and designed to accelerate innovation from the clinic to the community.

This collaboration builds on the RNI’s international leadership in neuroscience innovation. Since its inception in 2018, the Institute has launched several first-in-the-world clinical trials, including the use of focused ultrasound to non-invasively open the blood-brain-barrier to deliver targeted therapeutics for patients dealing with Alzheimer’s to using neuromodulation to reduce cravings for those dealing with addiction.

About Cognito Therapeutics

Cognito Therapeutics is a late clinical-stage medical device company pioneering neuroprotective therapies to address the unmet needs of patients living with CNS disorders. Its lead product, Spectris™ AD, is an investigational at-home therapeutic device that uses non-invasive, sensory-driven neurostimulation to evoke gamma frequency brain activity. The company’s feasibility studies have shown the potential for Spectris AD to preserve cognition, daily function, and slow brain atrophy in patients diagnosed with mild-to-moderate AD. Cognito is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more information, visit www.cognitotx.com and follow @cognitotx.

About the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute

The WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (RNI) is a comprehensive multidisciplinary patient care, education, research, and innovation institute providing neurological and mental healthcare for 300,000 patients annually. The 300 physicians and scientists of the RNI improve lives by pioneering advances in neuroscience, brain health, and therapeutics. The RNI team uses the latest technologies with academic, government, and industry partners to make tangible progress to combat public health challenges ranging from addiction to Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, visit WVUMedicine.org/RNI.