Cognito gets $73m and hopes to do better this time

Cognito Therapeutics’ VC haul of $73m yesterday is notable for a couple of reasons. Like the deal between Roche and Lilly it shows that appetite for technological approaches to Alzheimer’s disease remains strong. Secondly, it highlights the overall paucity of VC funding available to the medtech sector in 2023. The round is the third biggest so far this year; this time last year it would have ranked ninth. Indeed the total venture cash raised by medtech companies this year sits at just $819m – by 23 March 2022 the total was $2.3bn. Still, Cognito is one of the lucky ones, and its series B round will go towards the phase 3 trial of its neuromodulation technology. CogTx-001 is a wearable device that delivers gamma frequency light and sound, which the group says incites increased brain activity, potentially boosting memory and perception. The Hope trial, which kicked off last month, tests this versus sham, with the aim of improving symptoms on a couple of rating scales after a year’s treatment. Investors have clearly not been put off by CogTx-001’s showing in phase 2: it missed significance on all three of the Overture trial’s primary endpoints.