What if restoring brain health could be as simple as wearing a headset for an hour a day? Join us for a groundbreaking conversation with Christian Howell, CEO of Cognito Therapeutics, as we uncover the innovative technologies transforming Alzheimer's treatment. With roots in the pioneering work of MIT neuroscientists Dr. Li-Huei Tsai and Dr. Ed Boyden and supported by venture capitalist Gerald Chan, Cognito Therapeutics is leading the charge in non-invasive therapies. Learn how their Spectris technology uses 40 Hertz gamma stimulation to offer a significant breakthrough in neuroplasticity and cognitive preservation.
Discover the collaborative spirit driving the future of neuro therapies as we discuss Christian Howell's strategic vision for advancing brain health. Highlighting the significant strides from the Overture phase two trial to the anticipated Hope phase three trial, we explore how these partnerships with academic powerhouses like MIT and regulatory support from the FDA and CMS are crucial for ensuring both the safety and efficacy of new treatments. With a patient-centric approach, Christian and his team are dedicated to making treatment seamless in daily life, transitioning patients from skepticism to empowerment without compromising on safety.
Christian shares his leadership philosophy, drawing inspiration from Medtronic's founder, Earl Bakken, to challenge societal biases toward traditional pharmaceutical approaches. By advocating for physics-based therapies, Cognito aims to revolutionize neurotechnology and establish non-invasive treatments as primary or complementary options for neurodegenerative diseases. With a focus on empowering language and fostering an open dialogue about cognitive health, this episode offers a compelling vision for a future where brain health is as accessible and manageable as any other chronic condition.
#Cognito #Catalyzeimpact #ideagenglobal
Learn more about Cognito Therapeutics here: https://www.cognitotx.com/
View more episodes of The Catalyze Impact Podcast here: https://www.ideagenglobal.com/podcast
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Welcome to the Catalyze Impact podcast on
IdeaGen TV Today.
I am thrilled to have with usChristian Howell, ceo of Cognito
Therapeutics.
Christian welcome, george.
Thanks so much for having me.
You know, christian, there's alot of things that are inspiring
in the world today, but I'vegot to say I'm really inspired
(00:36):
by the work that you're doingand I'm ecstatic that our global
audience will be able to hearmore directly from you on
exactly what that is.
So, as we launch right intothis interview, I'd like to ask
you what inspired the foundingof Cognito Therapeutics and how
(00:56):
has your mission evolved overtime?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, you know, we are really lucky that there are
kind of three key members of ourfounding.
The first are two pioneeringneuroscientists out of MIT Dr
Li-Wei Tsai, who was pioneeringthis work of 40 hertz gamma
stimulation stimulating theneurons of the brain to
(01:23):
oscillate at a frequency topromote a biological change that
is incredibly important for thepreservation of brain health
and brain structure.
And then Dr Ed Boyden, who hadbeen pioneering the work of
optogenetics, which is usinglight therapy to target specific
cells and genes in the brain topromote a biological effect.
(01:45):
And so the two of them gottogether and said what, if we
combine these therapies, wouldwe have the ability to very
effectively, very safely andvery accurately target regions
of the brain to promote brainhealth?
And so they got together andthey formed Cognito.
And then the third member ofthat team was really Gerald Chan
(02:05):
, and so Gerald is a venturecapitalist and a philanthropist
in Boston, leads MorningsideVentures, and they went to him.
Originally he's been anenormous supporter of promoting
brain health and solutions inneurodegenerative disease and he
(02:26):
seeded the company and thecompany really exploded from
there.
I came in as CEO in August oflast year and our mission really
is how can we transform brainhealth and our initial focus is
in Alzheimer's disease.
But we are firm believers thatan active brain is a healthy
(02:50):
brain and if we can promoteactivity in the brain to drive
biological expression that'simportant for health, then we
will be able to support thebrain's defense against other
neurodegenerative conditionsincluding Parkinson's and
(03:11):
multiple sclerosis and others.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
That's just remarkable, and the journey is
one that is so, so, justinspiring.
And so, as we look at thevarious ways you're doing what
you're doing, there's somethingcalled spectrous.
Various ways you're doing whatyou're doing, there's something
called spectrics.
And how does spectrous work andwhat makes it a breakthrough, a
literal breakthrough inAlzheimer's treatment?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, it's a great question, and so I'm going to go
back to this idea of an activebrain as a healthy brain.
And so, you know, oftentimes intherapeutic development, what
we see is therapies developed inorder to target specific
elements of a disease, and thenwhat we also see are
(03:53):
therapeutics that are developedthat boost systems within the
body in order to better defenditself against the disease, and
in many ways, I think we fall inthat latter camp.
So, going back to the work ofLi Wei and Ed, what we know is
that our brain, at variouspoints, is oscillating at
(04:18):
various levels.
When we're sleeping, when we'reactive, when we're deep in
thought, and when the brain ismost active and most productive,
it oscillates at a frequency wecall gamma, which is around 40
Hertz, and what that's tellingus is that's the frequency in
which the neurons are firing,neuroplasticity is occurring,
and for the brain to be able tooperate at 40 Hertz, there needs
(04:44):
to be specific genes andproteins and peptides expressed
that preserve that level offunction and that level of brain
structure and health.
And what we know in aneurodegenerative brain is that
ability to oscillate at thatgamma level is dramatically
(05:04):
suppressed.
And so what we've learned is, byusing this non-invasive
neurostimulation called Spectris, we are able to stimulate the
neurons of the brain tooscillate at 40 hertz by
delivering 40 hertz gammastimulation through an audio
visual method.
(05:25):
And what we are seeing is sortof real breakthrough, and we're
very fortunate not just the termbreakthrough, meaning something
we've not seen before, but anactual designation from the
Center for Devices andRadiological Health for our
technology, meaning that therehasn't been other technologies
like this.
We have a breakthroughdesignation and work very
(05:46):
closely with our colleagues atthe FDA to make sure that we
bring a safe and effectivetherapy to market Just very
quickly.
The way that the therapy isdelivered is we use flashing
light and sound.
So patients wear a headset thathas LED lights around the
(06:07):
goggles and a pulse tone througha headphone.
They wear it for an hour a day,every day, and what we've seen
in our both the preclinical workout of MIT and the clinical
research we've done to date isreally an unbelievable impact on
the preservation of cognition,on the preservation of function
(06:27):
and the preservation of brainstructure, measured through
white matter and myelin.
So that's made us enormouslyconfident as we've gone forward
into much more substantiveclinical research.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
That is just, you know, again, incredible to hear
and so, taking that just a stepfurther, christian, how does
Cognito ensure the basicefficacy and safety of this
non-invasive therapy.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
We sort of are, you know, in the world of the life
sciences.
We're a little bit of a tweenerright.
In some contexts we look verymuch like a medical technology
or a medical device, but thetherapeutic impact we're driving
is much more akin to that of abiopharmaceutical.
What we're doing differently is, rather than using chemistry to
(07:21):
drive biology, we're usingphysics to drive biology, and
what we sort of realized is thatit's unbelievably important for
us to build a very robustpre-clinical and clinical
portfolio so that when we go toregulators and we go to payers
(07:42):
and, more importantly, when wego to patients and physicians,
there is a very substantiveevidence portfolio that they can
look at and feel comfortablethat not only is this technology
unbelievably safe, but thistechnology is also unbelievably
efficacious.
And you know, I think the mosttelling data point we have to
date is our phase two trial thatwe did called overture, and it
(08:07):
was a randomized, sham,controlled six-month study.
And what we found was, in thepreservation of cognition,
measured through the mini mentalstate exam, we showed a 70
percent preservation compared tothe sham.
In the measure of function whichwe use, the ADCS, adl, which is
(08:30):
a measure of activities ofdaily living, we showed a 76%
preservation of brain structure,which is measured through you
know which we're measuringmyelin through MRI.
What we saw was a 70%preservation of brain structure.
(08:53):
So those are really best inclass and it gave us that proof
of concept study, gave usenormous confidence to move
forward into a much more robustphase three which we are
currently enrolling.
We have about 600 patients asof today, in the early part of
(09:15):
the year, enrolled in what willultimately be a 670 patient 12
month randomized-controlledtrial that we're really excited
that we'll have an opportunityto provide top-line readout
sometime in the middle of 26.
So you know, there isoftentimes said that the
(09:40):
evidentiary burden forpharmaceuticals is in the
pre-market space and there is anevidentiary burden for medical
devices in the pre-market spaceand there is an evidentiary
burden for medical devices inthe post-market and we've really
taken a disposition that wehave an evidentiary burden
across our entire productlifecycle.
So we have invested very much,like a biopharmaceutical, in the
amount of preclinical researchthat we've done.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
And to hear how you're going about this is
really what's profound Christian.
And so, as you look at otherareas and other potential
applications for Cognito'stechnology beyond Alzheimer's,
what would those be?
What are some of the otherareas over the horizon that
you're considering?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, it's an unbelievable I'm spoiled,
candidly, as the leader not justof the company and the
incredible scientists andemployees that we have, but also
sort is a healthy brain.
(10:42):
And promoting this type ofbrain health and conditioning
the brain to better defenditself against neurodegenerative
conditions not only allows usto address the challenges that
you know seven million Americansare facing as it relates in
Alzheimer's.
(11:03):
There are somewhere between 10and 12 million people in the
United States with mildcognitive impairment, and 8 to
10 million of those have noteven been diagnosed yet disease
that I think we're going to havea really unique opportunity to
(11:24):
provide a safe, effective,cost-effective at-home therapy
for them.
And then, if we think about thebrain's ability to defend itself
against other neurodegenerativeconditions, things like
multiple sclerosis, parkinson'sLewy body are all areas that
we're really interested inexploring and then what we also
(11:47):
know is that a healthy brain hasthe ability to key systems like
the glymphatic system, whichare very important for
neuroinflammation, and so thingslike traumatic brain injury and
concussion are also things thatare better resolved and served
with an active and healthy brain.
(12:07):
So there's also cardiometabolicdiseases.
So you know, companies of oursize a mentor of mine used to
say don't die of starvation,they die of indigestion, and so
we really want to strike abalance between sort of
recognizing the responsibilitywe have as an organization to
(12:31):
bring this therapy to as manypatients as possible, but also
making sure that we do the jobthat's directly in front of us,
which is delivering a very highquality study, working with the
regulators to make sure that weare demonstrating our safety and
our efficacy, and theninitially driving this to
(12:51):
patients in the Alzheimer'sspace, starting with those that
are mild and moderate.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You know it's just startling.
You know, listening to you in avery positive way, obviously,
to hear, first of all, yourexcitement, but also, you know,
the excitement based on what yousee is the future and the
opportunity to help so many, somany people across the world
(13:21):
really, and that's really whatwe're talking about here so many
people across the world, really.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
And that's really what we're talking about here.
Yeah, I mean it's.
You know, you can see in thebackground a chapter of my
career at one point was in theNavy and what it centered for me
.
You know, my dad was also aveteran and sort of gave me this
idea of a life of service.
And so at the organization, youknow, at Cognito, we really are
(13:49):
North Star of the patients andand the patients families,
candidly, because these diseasesare plus one, they're not just
impacting our mothers andfathers and brothers and sisters
, but they're also impacting our, you know, their husbands and
wives and their families, and sowe really work hard to make
sure that we keep the patientfront and center for us and
(14:14):
acknowledging that that at somepoint will be patients beyond
just Alzheimer's patients.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You know and that again is what's so incredibly
exciting You're entering phasethree.
Could you, christian, talk alittle bit you've mentioned it,
but talk a little bit more aboutthe Orbiture phase two trial
and what key findings you cameacross and, ultimately, the
impacts it had on your patients?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Sure, you know it's interesting.
You know we talked a little bitabout the impact of cognition
and to function into brainvolume out of Overture were so
significant that we reallyworked hard to not change what
we were doing when we went intoHope.
(15:13):
And so you know, we had 74patients in the Overture trial.
We moved that number to 670.
We were at five sites acrossthe United States for Overture.
We've now moved that to morethan 60 sites across the United
States.
We were six months withinOverture.
We've now moved that to 12months.
(15:34):
What is exciting about theOverture is we did what was
called an open label extension,which is giving patients the
opportunity that were on theactive therapy to remain on the
active therapy and for thosethat were on the sham therapy to
move on the active therapy andfor those that were on the sham
therapy to move to active.
And we looked at those patientsfor an additional 12 months and,
(15:54):
excitingly, we learned twothings.
The first thing we learned isthat for the active group we
were able to show durability, sothis preservation of cognition
and function and brain volumeremained.
The other thing we were able toshow is that we were able to
arrest the decline of the shamgroup, and so they could also
(16:18):
then benefit from thepreservation that the active
group had seen over the courseof 12 months.
That was unbelievably excitingfor us to show and again
thinking, puttingpatient-centric to show that we
not only you know could beperceived as like a durable
treatment where patients cancontinue to integrate this as a
part of their daily activities,but also that we can continue to
(16:41):
impact those that hadexperienced even more decline.
We'll be doing the same as apart of our hope study, so we're
really excited to be able tocontinue to deliver that
evidence to physicians andthought leaders and subject
matter experts and patients sothey understand just how
efficacious this device is.
One other element I would add iswe had no serious adverse
(17:04):
events, and so, in a space where, you know, we are trying to
pioneer new medicines and newneuromedicines and there are
challenges between efficacy andsafety in some of those
therapies, we're enormouslyfortunate that that is not
something that we are challengedwith.
That the device is unbelievablysafe and in the UX research
(17:28):
that we've had with patientsthat have come out of the study,
we've heard that it's alsoincredibly usable.
We had adherence over 80% inour phase two, which means that
patients are using itconsistently.
We're seeing even better thanthat in our HOPE study, so we're
unbelievably excited that notonly is this a safe and
(17:49):
efficacious therapy, but it'ssomething that is easily
integrated into patients' dailylives.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
That's just, you know , incredible as well to hear and
again, I think your enthusiasmis really what's clearly
contagious, and that optimismthat so many folks will be able
to take part potentially in thisgame.
Changing, you know, treatmentis just, it's just incredible.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
I will be completely honest Of all the jobs I've had
in my entire lives and youreally look for something to be
purpose-driven this is onethat's as easy to get out of bed
in the morning or spend theextra hour, because it does feel
like this sense ofresponsibility of stewarding
this unbelievable therapy.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, yeah, it's just remarkable.
And so, in terms ofcollaboration, what types of
collaborative efforts are inplace with, for example,
academic institutions or otherhealthcare organizations that
can help to further yourcritical research?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, you know, I think about partnership really
in a couple of lenses, so one.
We have a very robust networkof academic sites that we've
worked with both in thedevelopment of our clinical
research and our preclinicalresearch, and the lead in that
has been the unbelievablepartners that we have at MIT,
and so they continue to beenormously explorative in a
(19:29):
preclinical space around thepossibilities of this and in
many ways help guide and directthe therapy areas that we think
we can move into From a.
You know, I am lucky throughoutthe day.
You know I no longer say thatI'm the dumbest person in every
room, I just say that I'm theperson who has the most to learn
in every room I go to, becausewe have an unbelievably robust
(19:54):
both scientific advisory board,medical advisory board.
The board of directors is aorganization of our size that is
as well guided byinternationally recognized
scientific minds and medicalminds that are really making
(20:15):
sure that we are unbelievablyfluent in the technology and
that we're unbelievably fluentin the needs of the patient.
The third group and I reallydon't say this, I mean this
generally is I think oforganizations like the FDA and
(20:38):
CMS and even commercial payersas our partners in this.
I am an enormous believer thatunder Jeff Shuren's leadership
and under Michelle Tarver'sleadership and under Rob
Califf's leadership at the FDA,they have really tried to drive
an ecosystem where companies inour position can engage the FDA
(21:02):
designation, whether it'sprograms like early payer
feedback.
There are programs like TAPwhere they can help early stage
companies design, trial design.
I just think you know, for along time I think there was this
disposition toward the FDA andCMS of only go to them when you
need to, and we have taken acompletely different approach on
(21:25):
that and we really do think ofour review team and the FDA and
the guidance that they give aspartners, and I'll continue to
think of them when I think ofpartners.
I think the same with CMS, asthey sort of help us think
through coverage andreimbursement and how to
navigate those pathways asefficiently as possible so we
(21:47):
can get this to patients.
So I really am incrediblyfortunate that I have academic
centers, I have thought leaders,I have government organizations
that are tremendous partners.
And then I would also say isI'm looking now to build very
robust partnerships with healthsystems, to think about how,
(22:11):
given the dexterity of thetherapy, given the idea that it
can be impactful, not justAlzheimer's, but Parkinson's and
multiple sclerosis andcardiometabolic health and
concussion and epilepsy.
You know how do I explore thoseinside the walls of large
health systems.
So there's an economy of scaleand sharing.
So that's also a lot of workwe'll be doing here in the next
(22:35):
12 to 18 months.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
You know it's.
It's also incumbent upon me toyou know, chat with you a little
bit about your leadershipprinciples.
You alluded to the Navy andyour service to our nation,
which we're deeply grateful for,and so I'd like to ask you,
christian, what leadershipprinciples guide your
decision-making as CEO ofCognito?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah, you know, I was incredibly fortunate that in my
in a previous role, I had theopportunity to work very closely
with Omar Israq, who was theCEO of Medtronic, and I had
worked, you know, obviously, inthe Navy, where we had a very
clear mission for what we weretrying to achieve.
(23:20):
And, if possible, I think itmight have been even clearer at
Medtronic.
And when Omar was retiring andJeff Martha, who I have an
enormous amount of admirationfor, came in, I asked Omar, what
is the piece of advice thatyou're going to give to Jeff?
And I thought I was going toget this broad, publicly traded
(23:43):
company, this is the way youneed to think about the markets
piece.
And what he said to me wasChristian, it's quite simple,
which is fidelity to the mission.
And Earl Bakken, when he startedMedtronic, was very thoughtful
in the way that he built themission.
And the mission not only isaspirational but it's also
strategic for us.
And so I really took that toheart and, as a CEO of Cognito,
(24:07):
wanted to make sure that webuilt a mission that not only
was something our employees andour investors and outside the
company could look at and say.
That resonates with me thisidea of restoring brain health,
of focusing on patients, wasgoing to be something that
resonated, but that it also gavereal clarity to my organization
(24:30):
on where we would go.
So if it's outside of thatmission, it really allows us to
say, okay, we know what we'redirected to, let's stay focused
on the mission.
And then the other piece I wouldjust two other pieces I would
say is one if there is a NorthStar within our company, the
North Star is the patient, andso we are constantly putting the
(24:53):
patient front of mind andthinking about their experience,
thinking about their needs,thinking about their challenges.
We really we talk a lot aboutit.
One of our core culturalpillars is in service to others.
And then the last piece I wouldjust say is you know, I love
that quote which is in God, wetrust all others bring data.
(25:13):
Which is in God, we trust allothers bring data.
And so I think, as a leader, oneof the things that I can do is
give confidence to my team thatthe way that I'm going to make
decisions is empirical, thatthere is an objectivity, not a
subjectivity.
And I think the way that you dothat is you ground that in data
(25:36):
, and you ground that you knowdata should lead into evidence
and evidence should lead intodecision.
And I think what it does, is itjust?
It provides an enormous amountof clarity for the team.
Knowing I've got a North Star,I know the mission I'm trying to
achieve and I know howdecisions are made, and I think
that sort of framework hasallowed the employees to really
(25:57):
put themselves in a positionwhere they're just constantly
overachieving, which isunbelievable for us and as
somebody that's fortunate enoughto lead the company.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Christian.
That's incredible backgroundand I love the nexus with the
CEO, medtronic.
I mean, I think having thatmentorship, and from a
leadership standpoint,especially from visionary
leaders, is something that ispriceless and I'm sure is
something that you recognize inyour role.
(26:30):
Now You're adopting a lot ofthose lessons.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
And so you know, please.
No, I was just gonna say Icompletely agree, right, I think
I think we all read the booksand I think we all watch, but
it's amazing how much you havethe opportunity when you can put
yourself in a position to learnfirsthand.
Um and I, I was just incrediblyfortunate, like with omar or
with jeff or the other leadersthat I worked with at medtronic
who went and became CEOs ofcompanies.
You know that I don't know.
(26:59):
I just think always being aconstant learner, being a mind
at work, like always trying tounderstand what resonates what
doesn't, it has served meincredibly well thus far in my
career.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
And you can see that and you can see that, and I'd
like to ask you you know, withthat leadership come hurdles,
and so what is the biggesthurdle that you've had to
overcome in terms of getting thenon-invasive neurostimulation
therapies widely adopted?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
adopted?
It's a great question.
Quickly, I think what they areis.
We have an inclination, I thinkas a society, that in the
context of medicine thatchemistry drives biology.
So what I should be looking foris pharmaceutical or
biochemical-like therapies todrive biological change, and in
(27:54):
many cases that's right.
But we have learned in thatparticular systems of the body
that physics is actually abetter way to drive biology.
And the central nervous systemis a key system for using
physics-based interventions likeours, like pulse ultrasound,
like TMS or transmagneticstimulation.
(28:16):
And we've seen this in otherspaces.
You know, for years the youknow standard of care in atrial
fibrillation was drug therapyand then what we learned is
either using cryo or RF ablationbecame a much more effective
therapeutic approach forspecific patients.
So I think we've learned thisin other spaces and we're seeing
(28:40):
this around different neuralstimulation and I think getting
people comfortable and shiftingtheir perspective that
oftentimes physics can drivebiology is really the biggest
one.
And then I think the next greatfrontier is just getting
(29:02):
patients and physicianscomfortable with new therapies.
Right, we have to make sure asthe life science companies that
we are to that earlier pointabout bringing substantive
evidence to the market, and Ireally think companies need to
(29:22):
be thinking about their evidencestrategy across their entire
product lifecycle preclinical,clinical, post-market coverage
and reimbursement, healtheconomics.
I think we think about that fartoo episodically and what I've
really tried to do is get theorganization to be thinking
about our evidence strategy in amore holistic perspective.
But I think one, stayingcommitted and prioritizing
(29:45):
evidence, and then two, you know, helping and making sure that
we are changing perspectivearound physics and chemistry
those have been the challengesto date.
But you know, in the world ofchallenges those certainly
aren't insurmountable.
So we're sort of keen to takethem on.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
That's right, christian.
That's the approach that Ithink is so powerful and
embedded within your methodology.
And so, as we approach theconclusion of this interview,
what is Cognito's long-termvision?
What's your vision forneurotechnology and
neurodegenerative diseasetreatment?
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yeah, it's a great question.
I mean I think we are the firstand on the cusp of a truly
innovative health technology,and what I mean by that is I
believe that there are ways thatthis therapy can be used as a
primary therapeutic inAlzheimer's disease, in multiple
sclerosis and Parkinson'sdisease.
(30:47):
I believe that there's anopportunity for it to be used in
combination.
You know we talked about cancertherapeutics that address the
disease and therapeutics thataddress the disease and
therapeutics that boost thesystem.
Because of our approach, we havethe ability to work with an
array of other therapies safelyand even promote their efficacy.
And then there is this reallyinteresting path around
(31:11):
preservation and performance andthinking about ways that
specters could be usedproactively by patients or by
older adults to drive cognitiveperformance.
And then there's even thisreally interesting lens of
general performance and that weknow that our brains are
(31:33):
operating at peak performancewhen they're oscillating at 40
hertz.
Is there a future where we'lluse this very safe intervention
to drive performance in otherareas?
So I think about it really fromthe perspective of are we one
of the first truly highdexterity health technologies,
(31:54):
and that technology is directedto impact health when there is
disease and when there is anopportunity to condition
ourselves to either prevent theprogression of disease or get
our brains working at peakperformance.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
You know and you can see it, and you can hear it and
you can understand it.
We're at the cusp of somethingthat is truly, you know,
profound, and we're alsograteful to you and Cognito for
all the work you're doing andcertainly wishing you great
success in this phase.
Three, 600 participants in thetrials I mean it's incredible.
(32:36):
Christian, what is your finalcall to action from this
interview for our globalaudience?
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Yeah, maybe I'll do two right.
One might be a littleprovocative, but I think it's
important, and then the othergoes to what we talked about.
The first one is I'd askeveryone to be sensitive and
thoughtful about language.
One of the things what I'vetried you've not heard me say in
the course of this conversationis the term dementia, and that
(33:08):
was on purpose, because Ibelieve that there is a
stigmatism and the data showsthis about dementia, and what I
think it can cause is people tobe reluctant to address the
issues, so they aren't labeledwith that, and so we know what's
important for our parents andfor our families is that we're
highly attuned to our cognitiveperformance and if that
(33:31):
cognitive performance becomesimpaired, that we go and we seek
out help.
And I think, if we can usedifferent language around that
and there's some wonderful workbeing done by different groups
Mike Zendel's work comes to mindwith changing the D word, but
it's something that I you know,it's a call to action for the
group, which is let's create anenvironment where as many
(33:53):
certainly Americans or peoplearound the world are comfortable
embracing some of thechallenges that they might be
feeling and we put no headwindin front of them that might make
them reluctant to address it.
And then the other is let'sreally be explorative and
understand that we're at a newyou know, brain health has kind
(34:16):
of come to the forefront.
We have we've done anunbelievable job as a culture
addressing other chronicconditions, whether it be
cardiovascular disease, obesity,cancer, but what it has, what
has created, is we are now aginginto concerns around
neurodegenerative disease and Ithink that same sort of
pioneering, open-minded,explorative spirit that we took
(34:39):
into those other spaces we needto do with this and we're hoping
that we're sort of one, thefirst of many approaches that
look at this, as you know, fromas many different angles as we
can and really trying to findways that we can drive benefit.
So those are sort of my twolast call to action.
And, george, I can't thank youenough for giving me the
(35:00):
opportunity to share this withyour audience and I just you
know I couldn't be more excitedabout our future and our impact
to patients.
So any opportunity I can haveto share that enthusiasm and
share what we're doing, I amenormously thankful and to your
group and to idea Jen and you.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Christian Howell, CEO of Cognito Therapeutics
changing the world.
Thank you for all you're doingand, most importantly, thank you
for your leadership, Christian.
We really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
George, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Thank you.
Welcome to the Catalyze Impact podcast on
IdeaGen TV Today.
I am thrilled to have with usChristian Howell, ceo of Cognito
Therapeutics.
Christian welcome, george.
Thanks so much for having me.
You know, christian, there's alot of things that are inspiring
in the world today, but I'vegot to say I'm really inspired
(00:36):
by the work that you're doingand I'm ecstatic that our global
audience will be able to hearmore directly from you on
exactly what that is.
So, as we launch right intothis interview, I'd like to ask
you what inspired the foundingof Cognito Therapeutics and how
(00:56):
has your mission evolved overtime?
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Yeah, you know, we are really lucky that there are
kind of three key members of ourfounding.
The first are two pioneeringneuroscientists out of MIT Dr
Li-Wei Tsai, who was pioneeringthis work of 40 hertz gamma
stimulation stimulating theneurons of the brain to
(01:23):
oscillate at a frequency topromote a biological change that
is incredibly important for thepreservation of brain health
and brain structure.
And then Dr Ed Boyden, who hadbeen pioneering the work of
optogenetics, which is usinglight therapy to target specific
cells and genes in the brain topromote a biological effect.
(01:45):
And so the two of them gottogether and said what, if we
combine these therapies, wouldwe have the ability to very
effectively, very safely andvery accurately target regions
of the brain to promote brainhealth?
And so they got together andthey formed Cognito.
And then the third member ofthat team was really Gerald Chan
(02:05):
, and so Gerald is a venturecapitalist and a philanthropist
in Boston, leads MorningsideVentures, and they went to him.
Originally he's been anenormous supporter of promoting
brain health and solutions inneurodegenerative disease and he
(02:26):
seeded the company and thecompany really exploded from
there.
I came in as CEO in August oflast year and our mission really
is how can we transform brainhealth and our initial focus is
in Alzheimer's disease.
But we are firm believers thatan active brain is a healthy
(02:50):
brain and if we can promoteactivity in the brain to drive
biological expression that'simportant for health, then we
will be able to support thebrain's defense against other
neurodegenerative conditionsincluding Parkinson's and
(03:11):
multiple sclerosis and others.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
That's just remarkable, and the journey is
one that is so, so, justinspiring.
And so, as we look at thevarious ways you're doing what
you're doing, there's somethingcalled spectrous.
Various ways you're doing whatyou're doing, there's something
called spectrics.
And how does spectrous work andwhat makes it a breakthrough, a
literal breakthrough inAlzheimer's treatment?
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Yeah, it's a great question, and so I'm going to go
back to this idea of an activebrain as a healthy brain.
And so, you know, oftentimes intherapeutic development, what
we see is therapies developed inorder to target specific
elements of a disease, and thenwhat we also see are
(03:53):
therapeutics that are developedthat boost systems within the
body in order to better defenditself against the disease, and
in many ways, I think we fall inthat latter camp.
So, going back to the work ofLi Wei and Ed, what we know is
that our brain, at variouspoints, is oscillating at
(04:18):
various levels.
When we're sleeping, when we'reactive, when we're deep in
thought, and when the brain ismost active and most productive,
it oscillates at a frequency wecall gamma, which is around 40
Hertz, and what that's tellingus is that's the frequency in
which the neurons are firing,neuroplasticity is occurring,
and for the brain to be able tooperate at 40 Hertz, there needs
(04:44):
to be specific genes andproteins and peptides expressed
that preserve that level offunction and that level of brain
structure and health.
And what we know in aneurodegenerative brain is that
ability to oscillate at thatgamma level is dramatically
(05:04):
suppressed.
And so what we've learned is, byusing this non-invasive
neurostimulation called Spectris, we are able to stimulate the
neurons of the brain tooscillate at 40 hertz by
delivering 40 hertz gammastimulation through an audio
visual method.
(05:25):
And what we are seeing is sortof real breakthrough, and we're
very fortunate not just the termbreakthrough, meaning something
we've not seen before, but anactual designation from the
Center for Devices andRadiological Health for our
technology, meaning that therehasn't been other technologies
like this.
We have a breakthroughdesignation and work very
(05:46):
closely with our colleagues atthe FDA to make sure that we
bring a safe and effectivetherapy to market Just very
quickly.
The way that the therapy isdelivered is we use flashing
light and sound.
So patients wear a headset thathas LED lights around the
(06:07):
goggles and a pulse tone througha headphone.
They wear it for an hour a day,every day, and what we've seen
in our both the preclinical workout of MIT and the clinical
research we've done to date isreally an unbelievable impact on
the preservation of cognition,on the preservation of function
(06:27):
and the preservation of brainstructure, measured through
white matter and myelin.
So that's made us enormouslyconfident as we've gone forward
into much more substantiveclinical research.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
That is just, you know, again, incredible to hear
and so, taking that just a stepfurther, christian, how does
Cognito ensure the basicefficacy and safety of this
non-invasive therapy.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
We sort of are, you know, in the world of the life
sciences.
We're a little bit of a tweenerright.
In some contexts we look verymuch like a medical technology
or a medical device, but thetherapeutic impact we're driving
is much more akin to that of abiopharmaceutical.
What we're doing differently is, rather than using chemistry to
(07:21):
drive biology, we're usingphysics to drive biology, and
what we sort of realized is thatit's unbelievably important for
us to build a very robustpre-clinical and clinical
portfolio so that when we go toregulators and we go to payers
(07:42):
and, more importantly, when wego to patients and physicians,
there is a very substantiveevidence portfolio that they can
look at and feel comfortablethat not only is this technology
unbelievably safe, but thistechnology is also unbelievably
efficacious.
And you know, I think the mosttelling data point we have to
date is our phase two trial thatwe did called overture, and it
(08:07):
was a randomized, sham,controlled six-month study.
And what we found was, in thepreservation of cognition,
measured through the mini mentalstate exam, we showed a 70
percent preservation compared tothe sham.
In the measure of function whichwe use, the ADCS, adl, which is
(08:30):
a measure of activities ofdaily living, we showed a 76%
preservation of brain structure,which is measured through you
know which we're measuringmyelin through MRI.
What we saw was a 70%preservation of brain structure.
(08:53):
So those are really best inclass and it gave us that proof
of concept study, gave usenormous confidence to move
forward into a much more robustphase three which we are
currently enrolling.
We have about 600 patients asof today, in the early part of
(09:15):
the year, enrolled in what willultimately be a 670 patient 12
month randomized-controlledtrial that we're really excited
that we'll have an opportunityto provide top-line readout
sometime in the middle of 26.
So you know, there isoftentimes said that the
(09:40):
evidentiary burden forpharmaceuticals is in the
pre-market space and there is anevidentiary burden for medical
devices in the pre-market spaceand there is an evidentiary
burden for medical devices inthe post-market and we've really
taken a disposition that wehave an evidentiary burden
across our entire productlifecycle.
So we have invested very much,like a biopharmaceutical, in the
amount of preclinical researchthat we've done.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
And to hear how you're going about this is
really what's profound Christian.
And so, as you look at otherareas and other potential
applications for Cognito'stechnology beyond Alzheimer's,
what would those be?
What are some of the otherareas over the horizon that
you're considering?
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah, it's an unbelievable I'm spoiled,
candidly, as the leader not justof the company and the
incredible scientists andemployees that we have, but also
sort is a healthy brain.
(10:42):
And promoting this type ofbrain health and conditioning
the brain to better defenditself against neurodegenerative
conditions not only allows usto address the challenges that
you know seven million Americansare facing as it relates in
Alzheimer's.
(11:03):
There are somewhere between 10and 12 million people in the
United States with mildcognitive impairment, and 8 to
10 million of those have noteven been diagnosed yet disease
that I think we're going to havea really unique opportunity to
(11:24):
provide a safe, effective,cost-effective at-home therapy
for them.
And then, if we think about thebrain's ability to defend itself
against other neurodegenerativeconditions, things like
multiple sclerosis, parkinson'sLewy body are all areas that
we're really interested inexploring and then what we also
(11:47):
know is that a healthy brain hasthe ability to key systems like
the glymphatic system, whichare very important for
neuroinflammation, and so thingslike traumatic brain injury and
concussion are also things thatare better resolved and served
with an active and healthy brain.
(12:07):
So there's also cardiometabolicdiseases.
So you know, companies of oursize a mentor of mine used to
say don't die of starvation,they die of indigestion, and so
we really want to strike abalance between sort of
recognizing the responsibilitywe have as an organization to
(12:31):
bring this therapy to as manypatients as possible, but also
making sure that we do the jobthat's directly in front of us,
which is delivering a very highquality study, working with the
regulators to make sure that weare demonstrating our safety and
our efficacy, and theninitially driving this to
(12:51):
patients in the Alzheimer'sspace, starting with those that
are mild and moderate.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
You know it's just startling.
You know, listening to you in avery positive way, obviously,
to hear, first of all, yourexcitement, but also, you know,
the excitement based on what yousee is the future and the
opportunity to help so many, somany people across the world
(13:21):
really, and that's really whatwe're talking about here so many
people across the world, really.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
And that's really what we're talking about here.
Yeah, I mean it's.
You know, you can see in thebackground a chapter of my
career at one point was in theNavy and what it centered for me
.
You know, my dad was also aveteran and sort of gave me this
idea of a life of service.
And so at the organization, youknow, at Cognito, we really are
(13:49):
North Star of the patients andand the patients families,
candidly, because these diseasesare plus one, they're not just
impacting our mothers andfathers and brothers and sisters
, but they're also impacting our, you know, their husbands and
wives and their families, and sowe really work hard to make
sure that we keep the patientfront and center for us and
(14:14):
acknowledging that that at somepoint will be patients beyond
just Alzheimer's patients.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
You know and that again is what's so incredibly
exciting You're entering phasethree.
Could you, christian, talk alittle bit you've mentioned it,
but talk a little bit more aboutthe Orbiture phase two trial
and what key findings you cameacross and, ultimately, the
impacts it had on your patients?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Sure, you know it's interesting.
You know we talked a little bitabout the impact of cognition
and to function into brainvolume out of Overture were so
significant that we reallyworked hard to not change what
we were doing when we went intoHope.
(15:13):
And so you know, we had 74patients in the Overture trial.
We moved that number to 670.
We were at five sites acrossthe United States for Overture.
We've now moved that to morethan 60 sites across the United
States.
We were six months withinOverture.
We've now moved that to 12months.
(15:34):
What is exciting about theOverture is we did what was
called an open label extension,which is giving patients the
opportunity that were on theactive therapy to remain on the
active therapy and for thosethat were on the sham therapy to
move on the active therapy andfor those that were on the sham
therapy to move to active.
And we looked at those patientsfor an additional 12 months and,
(15:54):
excitingly, we learned twothings.
The first thing we learned isthat for the active group we
were able to show durability, sothis preservation of cognition
and function and brain volumeremained.
The other thing we were able toshow is that we were able to
arrest the decline of the shamgroup, and so they could also
(16:18):
then benefit from thepreservation that the active
group had seen over the courseof 12 months.
That was unbelievably excitingfor us to show and again
thinking, puttingpatient-centric to show that we
not only you know could beperceived as like a durable
treatment where patients cancontinue to integrate this as a
part of their daily activities,but also that we can continue to
(16:41):
impact those that hadexperienced even more decline.
We'll be doing the same as apart of our hope study, so we're
really excited to be able tocontinue to deliver that
evidence to physicians andthought leaders and subject
matter experts and patients sothey understand just how
efficacious this device is.
One other element I would add iswe had no serious adverse
(17:04):
events, and so, in a space where, you know, we are trying to
pioneer new medicines and newneuromedicines and there are
challenges between efficacy andsafety in some of those
therapies, we're enormouslyfortunate that that is not
something that we are challengedwith.
That the device is unbelievablysafe and in the UX research
(17:28):
that we've had with patientsthat have come out of the study,
we've heard that it's alsoincredibly usable.
We had adherence over 80% inour phase two, which means that
patients are using itconsistently.
We're seeing even better thanthat in our HOPE study, so we're
unbelievably excited that notonly is this a safe and
(17:49):
efficacious therapy, but it'ssomething that is easily
integrated into patients' dailylives.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
That's just, you know , incredible as well to hear and
again, I think your enthusiasmis really what's clearly
contagious, and that optimismthat so many folks will be able
to take part potentially in thisgame.
Changing, you know, treatmentis just, it's just incredible.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
I will be completely honest Of all the jobs I've had
in my entire lives and youreally look for something to be
purpose-driven this is onethat's as easy to get out of bed
in the morning or spend theextra hour, because it does feel
like this sense ofresponsibility of stewarding
this unbelievable therapy.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Yeah, yeah, it's just remarkable.
And so, in terms ofcollaboration, what types of
collaborative efforts are inplace with, for example,
academic institutions or otherhealthcare organizations that
can help to further yourcritical research?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, you know, I think about partnership really
in a couple of lenses, so one.
We have a very robust networkof academic sites that we've
worked with both in thedevelopment of our clinical
research and our preclinicalresearch, and the lead in that
has been the unbelievablepartners that we have at MIT,
and so they continue to beenormously explorative in a
(19:29):
preclinical space around thepossibilities of this and in
many ways help guide and directthe therapy areas that we think
we can move into From a.
You know, I am lucky throughoutthe day.
You know I no longer say thatI'm the dumbest person in every
room, I just say that I'm theperson who has the most to learn
in every room I go to, becausewe have an unbelievably robust
(19:54):
both scientific advisory board,medical advisory board.
The board of directors is aorganization of our size that is
as well guided byinternationally recognized
scientific minds and medicalminds that are really making
(20:15):
sure that we are unbelievablyfluent in the technology and
that we're unbelievably fluentin the needs of the patient.
The third group and I reallydon't say this, I mean this
generally is I think oforganizations like the FDA and
(20:38):
CMS and even commercial payersas our partners in this.
I am an enormous believer thatunder Jeff Shuren's leadership
and under Michelle Tarver'sleadership and under Rob
Califf's leadership at the FDA,they have really tried to drive
an ecosystem where companies inour position can engage the FDA
(21:02):
designation, whether it'sprograms like early payer
feedback.
There are programs like TAPwhere they can help early stage
companies design, trial design.
I just think you know, for along time I think there was this
disposition toward the FDA andCMS of only go to them when you
need to, and we have taken acompletely different approach on
(21:25):
that and we really do think ofour review team and the FDA and
the guidance that they give aspartners, and I'll continue to
think of them when I think ofpartners.
I think the same with CMS, asthey sort of help us think
through coverage andreimbursement and how to
navigate those pathways asefficiently as possible so we
(21:47):
can get this to patients.
So I really am incrediblyfortunate that I have academic
centers, I have thought leaders,I have government organizations
that are tremendous partners.
And then I would also say isI'm looking now to build very
robust partnerships with healthsystems, to think about how,
(22:11):
given the dexterity of thetherapy, given the idea that it
can be impactful, not justAlzheimer's, but Parkinson's and
multiple sclerosis andcardiometabolic health and
concussion and epilepsy.
You know how do I explore thoseinside the walls of large
health systems.
So there's an economy of scaleand sharing.
So that's also a lot of workwe'll be doing here in the next
(22:35):
12 to 18 months.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
You know it's.
It's also incumbent upon me toyou know, chat with you a little
bit about your leadershipprinciples.
You alluded to the Navy andyour service to our nation,
which we're deeply grateful for,and so I'd like to ask you,
christian, what leadershipprinciples guide your
decision-making as CEO ofCognito?
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Yeah, you know, I was incredibly fortunate that in my
in a previous role, I had theopportunity to work very closely
with Omar Israq, who was theCEO of Medtronic, and I had
worked, you know, obviously, inthe Navy, where we had a very
clear mission for what we weretrying to achieve.
(23:20):
And, if possible, I think itmight have been even clearer at
Medtronic.
And when Omar was retiring andJeff Martha, who I have an
enormous amount of admirationfor, came in, I asked Omar, what
is the piece of advice thatyou're going to give to Jeff?
And I thought I was going toget this broad, publicly traded
(23:43):
company, this is the way youneed to think about the markets
piece.
And what he said to me wasChristian, it's quite simple,
which is fidelity to the mission.
And Earl Bakken, when he startedMedtronic, was very thoughtful
in the way that he built themission.
And the mission not only isaspirational but it's also
strategic for us.
And so I really took that toheart and, as a CEO of Cognito,
(24:07):
wanted to make sure that webuilt a mission that not only
was something our employees andour investors and outside the
company could look at and say.
That resonates with me thisidea of restoring brain health,
of focusing on patients, wasgoing to be something that
resonated, but that it also gavereal clarity to my organization
(24:30):
on where we would go.
So if it's outside of thatmission, it really allows us to
say, okay, we know what we'redirected to, let's stay focused
on the mission.
And then the other piece I wouldjust two other pieces I would
say is one if there is a NorthStar within our company, the
North Star is the patient, andso we are constantly putting the
(24:53):
patient front of mind andthinking about their experience,
thinking about their needs,thinking about their challenges.
We really we talk a lot aboutit.
One of our core culturalpillars is in service to others.
And then the last piece I wouldjust say is you know, I love
that quote which is in God, wetrust all others bring data.
(25:13):
Which is in God, we trust allothers bring data.
And so I think, as a leader, oneof the things that I can do is
give confidence to my team thatthe way that I'm going to make
decisions is empirical, thatthere is an objectivity, not a
subjectivity.
And I think the way that you dothat is you ground that in data
(25:36):
, and you ground that you knowdata should lead into evidence
and evidence should lead intodecision.
And I think what it does, is itjust?
It provides an enormous amountof clarity for the team.
Knowing I've got a North Star,I know the mission I'm trying to
achieve and I know howdecisions are made, and I think
that sort of framework hasallowed the employees to really
(25:57):
put themselves in a positionwhere they're just constantly
overachieving, which isunbelievable for us and as
somebody that's fortunate enoughto lead the company.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Christian.
That's incredible backgroundand I love the nexus with the
CEO, medtronic.
I mean, I think having thatmentorship, and from a
leadership standpoint,especially from visionary
leaders, is something that ispriceless and I'm sure is
something that you recognize inyour role.
(26:30):
Now You're adopting a lot ofthose lessons.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
And so you know, please.
No, I was just gonna say Icompletely agree, right, I think
I think we all read the booksand I think we all watch, but
it's amazing how much you havethe opportunity when you can put
yourself in a position to learnfirsthand.
Um and I, I was just incrediblyfortunate, like with omar or
with jeff or the other leadersthat I worked with at medtronic
who went and became CEOs ofcompanies.
You know that I don't know.
(26:59):
I just think always being aconstant learner, being a mind
at work, like always trying tounderstand what resonates what
doesn't, it has served meincredibly well thus far in my
career.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
And you can see that and you can see that, and I'd
like to ask you you know, withthat leadership come hurdles,
and so what is the biggesthurdle that you've had to
overcome in terms of getting thenon-invasive neurostimulation
therapies widely adopted?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
adopted?
It's a great question.
Quickly, I think what they areis.
We have an inclination, I thinkas a society, that in the
context of medicine thatchemistry drives biology.
So what I should be looking foris pharmaceutical or
biochemical-like therapies todrive biological change, and in
(27:54):
many cases that's right.
But we have learned in thatparticular systems of the body
that physics is actually abetter way to drive biology.
And the central nervous systemis a key system for using
physics-based interventions likeours, like pulse ultrasound,
like TMS or transmagneticstimulation.
(28:16):
And we've seen this in otherspaces.
You know, for years the youknow standard of care in atrial
fibrillation was drug therapyand then what we learned is
either using cryo or RF ablationbecame a much more effective
therapeutic approach forspecific patients.
So I think we've learned thisin other spaces and we're seeing
(28:40):
this around different neuralstimulation and I think getting
people comfortable and shiftingtheir perspective that
oftentimes physics can drivebiology is really the biggest
one.
And then I think the next greatfrontier is just getting
(29:02):
patients and physicianscomfortable with new therapies.
Right, we have to make sure asthe life science companies that
we are to that earlier pointabout bringing substantive
evidence to the market, and Ireally think companies need to
(29:22):
be thinking about their evidencestrategy across their entire
product lifecycle preclinical,clinical, post-market coverage
and reimbursement, healtheconomics.
I think we think about that fartoo episodically and what I've
really tried to do is get theorganization to be thinking
about our evidence strategy in amore holistic perspective.
But I think one, stayingcommitted and prioritizing
(29:45):
evidence, and then two, you know, helping and making sure that
we are changing perspectivearound physics and chemistry
those have been the challengesto date.
But you know, in the world ofchallenges those certainly
aren't insurmountable.
So we're sort of keen to takethem on.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
That's right, christian.
That's the approach that Ithink is so powerful and
embedded within your methodology.
And so, as we approach theconclusion of this interview,
what is Cognito's long-termvision?
What's your vision forneurotechnology and
neurodegenerative diseasetreatment?
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Yeah, it's a great question.
I mean I think we are the firstand on the cusp of a truly
innovative health technology,and what I mean by that is I
believe that there are ways thatthis therapy can be used as a
primary therapeutic inAlzheimer's disease, in multiple
sclerosis and Parkinson'sdisease.
(30:47):
I believe that there's anopportunity for it to be used in
combination.
You know we talked about cancertherapeutics that address the
disease and therapeutics thataddress the disease and
therapeutics that boost thesystem.
Because of our approach, we havethe ability to work with an
array of other therapies safelyand even promote their efficacy.
And then there is this reallyinteresting path around
(31:11):
preservation and performance andthinking about ways that
specters could be usedproactively by patients or by
older adults to drive cognitiveperformance.
And then there's even thisreally interesting lens of
general performance and that weknow that our brains are
(31:33):
operating at peak performancewhen they're oscillating at 40
hertz.
Is there a future where we'lluse this very safe intervention
to drive performance in otherareas?
So I think about it really fromthe perspective of are we one
of the first truly highdexterity health technologies,
(31:54):
and that technology is directedto impact health when there is
disease and when there is anopportunity to condition
ourselves to either prevent theprogression of disease or get
our brains working at peakperformance.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
You know and you can see it, and you can hear it and
you can understand it.
We're at the cusp of somethingthat is truly, you know,
profound, and we're alsograteful to you and Cognito for
all the work you're doing andcertainly wishing you great
success in this phase.
Three, 600 participants in thetrials I mean it's incredible.
(32:36):
Christian, what is your finalcall to action from this
interview for our globalaudience?
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Yeah, maybe I'll do two right.
One might be a littleprovocative, but I think it's
important, and then the othergoes to what we talked about.
The first one is I'd askeveryone to be sensitive and
thoughtful about language.
One of the things what I'vetried you've not heard me say in
the course of this conversationis the term dementia, and that
(33:08):
was on purpose, because Ibelieve that there is a
stigmatism and the data showsthis about dementia, and what I
think it can cause is people tobe reluctant to address the
issues, so they aren't labeledwith that, and so we know what's
important for our parents andfor our families is that we're
highly attuned to our cognitiveperformance and if that
(33:31):
cognitive performance becomesimpaired, that we go and we seek
out help.
And I think, if we can usedifferent language around that
and there's some wonderful workbeing done by different groups
Mike Zendel's work comes to mindwith changing the D word, but
it's something that I you know,it's a call to action for the
group, which is let's create anenvironment where as many
(33:53):
certainly Americans or peoplearound the world are comfortable
embracing some of thechallenges that they might be
feeling and we put no headwindin front of them that might make
them reluctant to address it.
And then the other is let'sreally be explorative and
understand that we're at a newyou know, brain health has kind
(34:16):
of come to the forefront.
We have we've done anunbelievable job as a culture
addressing other chronicconditions, whether it be
cardiovascular disease, obesity,cancer, but what it has, what
has created, is we are now aginginto concerns around
neurodegenerative disease and Ithink that same sort of
pioneering, open-minded,explorative spirit that we took
(34:39):
into those other spaces we needto do with this and we're hoping
that we're sort of one, thefirst of many approaches that
look at this, as you know, fromas many different angles as we
can and really trying to findways that we can drive benefit.
So those are sort of my twolast call to action.
And, george, I can't thank youenough for giving me the
(35:00):
opportunity to share this withyour audience and I just you
know I couldn't be more excitedabout our future and our impact
to patients.
So any opportunity I can haveto share that enthusiasm and
share what we're doing, I amenormously thankful and to your
group and to idea Jen and you.
Speaker 1 (35:22):
Christian Howell, CEO of Cognito Therapeutics
changing the world.
Thank you for all you're doingand, most importantly, thank you
for your leadership, Christian.
We really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
George, I appreciate the time.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Thank you.
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