Collaboration to Enhance Clinical Trials for Cognitive Impairment

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 18 Jan 2005 - 14:00 PST


Two leading forces in cognitive research will team up to speed the development of effective treatments for disorders ranging from Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia to diabetes and heart disease. Network Neurometrics (NetMet), based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Cogtest plc, with offices in London, Chicago and New Delhi, announced today a collaborative agreement whereby the clinical facilities, trial site networks, proprietary technologies and scientific expertise of each company would be made available to the other.

The clinical facilities of the two companies stretch across the United States and Europe to China and India. The technologies include a broad range of state-of-the-art computerized cognitive tests and batteries forming an unequalled library of tests for discovering drug effects and providing assessments optimized for specific compounds and patient groups. The full spectrum of cognitive drug development services provided by the two companies includes trial design and planning clinical development programs; site selection, study implementation and supervision; and data management, statistical analysis and report writing.

The scientific expertise comes from combining the leading international experts of the two companies, each with 20 to 40 years experience in cognitive drug development across different therapeutic areas. These opinion leaders include Dr Steven Ferris, Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, a leader in clinical trials for aging and dementia, and Chief Scientific Officer of NetMet; Dr Thomas Crook, a pioneer in cognitive assessment and drug development, and Dr Tonmoy Sharma, a leading expert in schizophrenia and cognition.

NetMet's Chief Operating Officer, Dr Thomas Crook, said: "Major international pharmaceutical companies and small innovative biotechnology companies are developing new treatments for a number of disorders that affect cognition. Such disorders arise not only from schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, but also from highly prevalent medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Indeed, learning and memory abilities decline significantly in the absence of disease as part of the normal aging process, and the search for effective drugs to limit or reverse this loss is also underway."

Cogtest's Chief Executive, Dr Tonmoy Sharma said: "I am very excited by the potential of the shared knowledge and expertise in these two companies. Together NetMet and Cogtest will provide pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with a turn-key solution for evaluating these new and exciting drugs for disorders affecting cognitive function, and bring them to those in need as quickly as possible."

http://www.cogtest.com
http://www.netneuromet.com

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