What Cognition Therapeutics does

Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGTX) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, developing therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and historically dry age-related macular degeneration. The company employs 11–50 people and is led by CEO Lisa Ricciardi, who joined the board in 2019, was appointed CEO in 2020, and led the company through its initial public offering.

The company's entire portfolio is built around a single investigational small molecule, zervimesine (also known as CT1812), a once-daily, oral, brain-penetrant first-in-class antagonist of the sigma-2 receptor (TMEM97) complex designed to displace toxic amyloid-beta and alpha-synuclein oligomers from neuronal synapses, thereby protecting synaptic integrity and function. Zervimesine achieves CSF concentrations consistent with greater than 80% estimated brain receptor occupancy and is being evaluated across six clinical programs — START (Phase 2, early Alzheimer's, 540-participant target, enrollment completed November 2025), SHINE (Phase 2, mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's, completed), SHIMMER (Phase 2, DLB, completed with 86% slowing of neuropsychiatric decline on NPI-12), SEQUEL (Phase 2 EEG synaptic function study, completed), SPARC (Phase 1 PET synaptic density study, completed), SNAP (Phase 1b target engagement study, completed), and MAGNIFY (Phase 2 in geographic atrophy, voluntarily discontinued to prioritize AD and DLB). A 32-participant Expanded Access Program for zervimesine in DLB reached full enrollment in December 2025.

Cognition Therapeutics is pre-revenue, generating no product sales; its operating capital comes from approximately $112M of cumulative NIA/NIH grant funding, a $30M registered direct offering closed in September 2025 with two new fundamental institutional investors, a prior $6M public offering in November 2022, philanthropic donations supporting the DLB EAP, and earlier angel and seed financing. The company has secured FDA alignment on two registrational paths — a biomarker-enriched (plasma p-tau217) Phase 3 design for Alzheimer's disease and a pivotal Phase 3 program in DLB psychosis expected to begin mid-2027 — and holds a Notice of Allowance on a polymorphic crystalline form patent providing IP protection through 2045 (potentially 2050). Commercialization has not yet commenced and the go-to-market model (self-launch versus partnership/licensing) remains undisclosed.

Name

Cognition Therapeutics

Legal name

Cognition Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://cogrx.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cognition Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CGTX) is a clinical-stage Pittsburgh-based biopharmaceutical company developing zervimesine (CT1812), a once-daily oral sigma-2 receptor modulator, as a disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies psychosis, currently advancing toward FDA-aligned Phase 3 registrational trials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Neurodegenerative disease therapeutics

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

akta.pro primary industry

Cognitive & Behavioral Neurology (Dementia/Memory Disorders) (HLAKAIAH)

Keywords

• Neurodegenerative disease therapeutics
• Alzheimer's disease treatment
• Lewy body dementia therapy
• Small molecule drug development
• Synaptic protection therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pre-revenue clinical-stage development: Cognition Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no approved products and no product revenue; future revenue model is expected to derive from commercialization of zervimesine following regulatory approval, supplemented by potential licensing or partnership deals.
2. Equity financings (registered direct and public offerings): Funded primarily through equity issuances, including a $30 million registered direct offering closed in September 2025 to two new fundamental institutional investors led by Titan Partners Group, and a prior $6 million public offering closed in November 2022.
3. Non-dilutive grant funding (NIA/NIH): Receives non-dilutive grant funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), including a $2.14 million grant for the SEQUEL study, a $30 million NIA grant supporting the SHIMMER Phase 2 study, and an approximately $81 million NIA grant supporting the START Phase 2 study.
4. Philanthropic donations: Has received philanthropic donations (e.g., from Jeffrey Pechter, founding partner of Mindful Capital) to extend the Expanded Access Program (EAP) for zervimesine in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Core offering

Cognition Therapeutics is developing zervimesine (CT1812), an investigational, first-in-class, once-daily, oral small-molecule sigma-2 receptor modulator designed to displace toxic amyloid-beta and alpha-synuclein oligomers from neuronal synapses and preserve synaptic integrity. The company's lead clinical programs target early Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, with additional exploratory activity historically in dry age-related macular degeneration / geographic atrophy.

Product overview

Cognition Therapeutics is a clinical-stage neuroscience company that has built its entire product offering around a single investigational lead asset — zervimesine (also known as CT1812) — a once-daily, brain-penetrant small-molecule oral sigma-2 receptor modulator designed to displace toxic amyloid beta and alpha-synuclein oligomers from synapses to protect neuronal integrity in age-related neurodegenerative diseases. The portfolio is structured as one core compound (zervimesine) evaluated across multiple named clinical programs: the Phase 2 START (COG0203) program in early Alzheimer's disease, the completed Phase 2 SHINE (COG0201) and SEQUEL (COG0202) programs in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease, the completed Phase 2 SHIMMER (COG1201) program in dementia with Lewy bodies (now supporting a Phase 3 registrational program in DLB psychosis), the completed Phase 1 SPARC (COG0105) and SNAP (COG0104) studies, the voluntarily discontinued Phase 2 MAGNIFY (COG2201) program in geographic atrophy, and an Expanded Access Program in DLB. These named studies together form a platform-like development strategy around the zervimesine molecule, targeting Alzheimer's disease, DLB psychosis, and (historically) dry AMD, with biomarker-driven Phase 3 trials aligned with the FDA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Zervimesine (CT1812)
• Zervimesine Expanded Access Program (DLB)

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Anavex Life Sciences: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing small-molecule therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease, Rett syndrome, and other neurodegenerative diseases. Highly comparable to Cognition as a small-cap, late-stage CNS biotech with a single-asset-focused pipeline targeting similar indications.
• Cassava Sciences: Clinical-stage biotechnology company developing simufilam for Alzheimer's disease. Directly comparable to Cognition as a small-cap, single-asset-focused AD therapeutics developer with similar regulatory and capital-raising dynamics.
• Prothena Corporation: Clinical-stage biotechnology company developing protein dysregulation-targeted therapies for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Comparable to Cognition in neurodegenerative disease focus, pipeline breadth within CNS, and clinical-stage development profile.
• AC Immune SA: Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics and diagnostics for neurodegenerative diseases, with multiple programs targeting Alzheimer's pathology. Comparable to Cognition in AD-focused pipeline and small-cap clinical-stage status.
• Athira Pharma: Clinical-stage biotechnology company developing small-molecule therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's. Comparable to Cognition in clinical-stage AD focus, single-asset concentration, and small-cap profile.
• Denali Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Comparable to Cognition in CNS/neurodegenerative disease focus and clinical-stage development approach.
• Cortexyme: Was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics targeting neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis, including for Alzheimer's. Comparable to Cognition in AD-targeted clinical-stage development and small-cap biotech profile (note: company underwent significant restructuring).

Broad incumbents

• Sage Therapeutics: Commercial-stage CNS biopharmaceutical company with approved products (Zurzuvae) and pipeline in depression, epilepsy, and other neurological conditions. Broader incumbent in CNS therapeutics with overlapping neuroscience expertise, though focused on different indications than Cognition.
• Biogen: Large established biopharmaceutical company commercializing Leqembi (lecanemab) with Eisai for early Alzheimer's disease. Major incumbent in AD therapeutics whose approved anti-amyloid antibody sets the competitive benchmark Cognition must differentiate against.
• Eisai: Large established Japanese pharmaceutical company with Leqembi (lecanemab) for Alzheimer's disease and a broad neurology pipeline. Major incumbent competitor in AD therapeutics whose commercial presence and regulatory experience shape the market Cognition is entering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cogrx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cognition-therapeutics
• Facebookfacebook.com/440906285998281

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds23 records

Investors17 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cognition Therapeutics