VANCOUVER, British Columbia & DALLAS, January 14, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alpha Cognition Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOG) ("Alpha Cognition", or the "Company"), a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel therapies for debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, today announced the strategic appointments of Jen Pesa, Vice President of Commercial; Jack Kelly, Head of Market Access; Rommel Fernandez, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Operations; and Kurt Grady, Vice President of Medical Affairs. These hires mark significant milestones in building Alpha Cognition’s commercial and medical teams as the company prepares for the upcoming launch of ZUNVEYL, its innovative treatment for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
Ms. Pesa brings 25 years of pharmaceutical commercial leadership to Alpha Cognition. Jen has successfully launched 12 products across 13 therapeutic areas, including neurology, psychiatry, and in multiple geriatric markets. With 14 years dedicated to long-term care (LTC), she has a deep understanding of this complex segment and a proven track record in building strategies that improve patient outcomes while enhancing healthcare delivery. Her expertise in driving cross-functional collaboration across marketing, market access, and sales operations will be instrumental in establishing the commercial success of ZUNVEYL.
Mr. Kelly brings over 30 years of experience in roles of increasing responsibility in the pharmaceutical industry with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo (DSI), and most recently Arbor Pharmaceuticals. He has successfully developed and implemented market access launch strategies, while growing numerous products in the CNS and 505(B)(2) space. Additionally, he has led strategic account management and contract negotiations with key payers, including Medicare, by delivering value-added solutions and services to customers and patients.
Mr. Fernandez is a commercial strategy executive with over 17 years of experience driving growth and innovation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. He has played a pivotal role in the commercialization and launch of six pharmaceutical products, delivering measurable outcomes for patients, providers, and stakeholders. As Chief Analytics Officer at Fingerpaint Group, Rommel led the integration of advanced analytics and generative AI into business operations. At La Jolla Pharmaceutical, he was instrumental in the launch of Giapreza, securing over 300 formulary approvals, access into some of the most high control health systems, and increasing hospital reimbursements for Medicare patients. His expertise spans market access, commercialization, financial modeling, and lifecycle management, consistently contributing to organizational growth and market success.
Dr. Grady has over 30 years of experience in health care, with a strong background in both clinical practice and the life science industry. He possesses broad therapeutic experience and has supported the launch of 9 new products and new indications in that time. Prior to joining Alpha Cognition, Kurt was Executive Director of Field Medical, Medical Operations, and Medical Communications at Reneo Pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Reneo, he was instrumental in building the Medical Affairs team and infrastructure and preparing for product launch. Prior to that, Kurt served as Head of US Medical Affairs at Acacia Pharma, Inc., and built and led the Medical Affairs organization through the successful launch of two new products. His pharmacy clinical practice experience includes Cox Health Systems in Springfield, MO; Express Scripts in St. Louis, MO; and Senior Scripts, a long-term care pharmacy, in Chesterfield, MO. Kurt is a Doctor of Pharmacy and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His business and pharmacy background will be important in helping the Company execute its launch strategy in Long Term Care.
"We are thrilled to welcome Jen, Rommel, Jack, and Kurt to the Alpha Cognition team as we build our commercial infrastructure for the upcoming launch of ZUNVEYL in Q1 2025," said Lauren D’Angelo, COO of Alpha Cognition. "Their extensive experience in long-term care, coupled with their functional expertise in commercial leadership, market access, data analytics and operational excellence, and medical expertise in LTC, will be critical as we bring this innovative treatment to patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This leadership team is already working hand-in-hand, and I’m confident that their leadership will drive impactful results and set new benchmarks for success in our journey."
With these key hires, Alpha Cognition is poised to advance its mission of improving the lives of patients and families affected by neurodegenerative diseases. ZUNVEYL will be available by prescription in pharmacies nationwide in Q1 2025.
About Alpha Cognition Inc.
Alpha Cognition Inc. is a commercial stage, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing treatments for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Cognitive Impairment with mild Traumatic Brain Injury ("mTBI"), for which there are currently no approved treatment options.
ZUNVEYL is a patented drug approved as a new generation acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, with expected minimal gastrointestinal side effects. ZUNVEYL’s active metabolite is differentiated from donepezil and rivastigmine in that it improves the function of neuronal nicotinic receptors, most notably the alpha-7 subtype, which is known to have a positive effect on cognition. Benzgalantamine is also being developed in combination with memantine to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer’s dementia, and as an intranasal formulation for Cognitive Impairment with mTBI.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, any information contained in this news release may be a forward-looking statement that reflects the Company’s current views about future events and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words "may," "might," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "objective," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "target," "seek," "contemplate," "continue" and "ongoing," or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future. Forward-looking statements may include statements regarding Ms. Pesa’s appointment as Vice President of Commercial, Mr. Kelly’s appointment as Head of Market Access, Mr. Fernandez’s appointment of Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Operations, Dr. Grady’s appointment as Vice President of Medical Affairs, and the current or future efficacy of ZUNVEYL as an innovative treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Although the Company believes to have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our expectations of the future, about which we cannot be certain. The Company cannot assure that the actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.
