Cognition Therapeutics Presents Phase 2 Results For Drug To Fight DLB At International Conference
Detroit, Michigan
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February 06, 2025 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
By Meg Flippin, Benzinga
Cognition Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CGTX), a clinical-stage company developing drugs that treat neurodegenerative disorders including dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), had the opportunity to raise awareness about its experimental drug zervimesine (CT1812) when the company presented trial results in a podium presentation at the International Lewy Body Dementia Conference (ILBDC). The eighth International Lewy Body Dementia Conference, held in Amsterdam last week, drew an international audience of advocates, scientists and physicians looking for ways to fight this debilitating disease.
Zervimesine is an experimental, orally delivered small molecule oligomer antagonist designed to treat this progressive form of dementia. Cognition Therapeutics recently reported
positive topline results of its exploratory phase 2 SHIMMER study for the drug, announcing zervimesine produced strong therapeutic responses across behavioral, functional, cognitive and movement measures in patients with DLB.
“Older adults with DLB are often placed in care facilities not because of memory issues, but due to the severity of neuropsychiatric or motor symptoms that overwhelm their caregivers,” said James E. Galvin, MD, MPH, director of the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, who was the study director for SHIMMER . “Patients on zervimesine had fewer cognitive fluctuations and showed better motor control than placebo-treated patients. The results from this exploratory phase 2 trial demonstrated zervimesine could have a meaningful, positive impact on DLB patients across multiple measures of cognitive, behavioral, movement and functional performance, potentially enabling people with DLB to live at home with the assistance of their care partners.”
DLB Drug Holds Promise
DLB is a progressive form of dementia characterized by symptoms that fluctuate in severity and can be difficult to diagnose early. It can cause people to have hallucinations, delusions and anxiety as well as cognitive declines that impair their thinking and reasoning. It can cause uncontrollable changes in alertness, sleep disruptions, tremors and slow movement. DLB impacts about 1.4 million people in the U.S. and is the costliest form of dementia.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 SHIMMER study had 130 adults enrolled who were evenly divided into groups that received either a placebo or a daily dose of zervimesine for six months. Cognition Therapeutics reported the study met its primary endpoint of safety and tolerability. As presented at ILBDC, zervimesine-treated DLB patients scored an average of 86% better than placebo-treated patients on the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) A-L at the end of the study. This tool describes the frequency and severity of 12 separate behavioral symptoms.
The impact on the NPI scale in the SHIMMER trial means that patients receiving zervimesine had fewer or less severe hallucinations and delusions and less anxiety and agitation than placebo-treated patients, the company noted. These symptoms are a hallmark of DLB and can be debilitating for patients. The improvement in these behavioral symptoms was measured not only for patients but also their care partners, who reported improvements in their levels of distress caused by these symptoms.
Patients, Caregivers Benefit From Zervimesine
Patients who received zervimesine also preserved 52% more of their ability to care for themselves, measured by the activities of daily living (ADCS-ADL) scale, compared to those taking the placebo. Cognition said this was likely due to the improvements in behavioral symptoms as well as a 91% reduction in cognitive fluctuations in zervimesine-treated patients. Cognitive fluctuations are another hallmark of DLB and are described as a non-responsive state that can occur suddenly and last for hours. The person experiencing the fluctuation may or may not be aware that it is happening. On top of all that, the company said that based on trial results, zervimesine treatment allowed patients to maintain 62% better motor function – including gait, balance and tremors – than those on the placebo.
“Dr. Galvin’s presentation is an important opportunity to educate an international audience of advocates, scientists and physicians about the impressive efficacy signals that were observed in participants treated with zervimesine (CT1812),” said Anthony O. Caggiano, MD, PhD, Cognition’s CMO and head of R&D. “The improvement we observed across behavioral, cognitive, functional and motor symptoms in zervimesine-treated participants suggest a broad and meaningful impact on their daily lives. These results reinforce zervimesine’s potential to address the complex and debilitating symptoms of this disease.”
Featured photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash.
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