Cambridge Cognition Holdings plc (LON:COG), which develops and markets digital solutions to assess brain health, has announced that it has won a £2m contract as the cognitive assessment partner for three late phase clinical trials for a pharmaceutical company’s lead drug candidate for patients with schizophrenia. It is one of the largest single contracts secured by the Company and the revenue from the contract should be booked over the next four years with the majority recognised in 2021.
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that affects more than 20 million people worldwide1. With new avenues of research being explored in recent years, more drugs have been launched (an increase of 30% in five years2) and there is increasing interest in drug development in the field.
Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, with deficits frequently observed in memory, attention and executive functions. Given the importance of this disorder, schizophrenia has been a core area of clinical focus for the Company for the last three years as CANTABTM cognitive assessments have a high degree of sensitivity in measuring these distinct processes. The fact that a pharmaceutical company has now chosen Cambridge Cognition as the cognitive assessment provider for three late stage trials recognises the investment that has been made in this field by the Cambridge Cognition team.
The pharmaceutical company will conduct two five-week inpatient trials of efficacy and safety of the drug as well as a 52-week open-label extension study. Cambridge Cognition will support all three trials with what the Company believes to be gold-standard computerised cognitive assessment software, CANTABTM, together with associated clinical trial services.
Matthew Stork, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge Cognition, said:
“We are delighted to have won this contract, which is considerably larger than our typical contract size, to support this large trial and work with a company that recognises the importance of sensitive and accurate cognitive assessment in schizophrenia. It is an outstanding endorsement for CANTABTM in this growing area of research.”
1. GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet; 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32279-7).
2. Informa, PharmaProjects Database, accessed 25/08/2020 (https://citeline.informa.com/drugs/trends?qId=b307f25a-bee3-4293-8dec-cc86727bfea5)
