Cambridge Cognition wins £2m contract with pharma firm

Brain health company Cambridge Cognition 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 announced on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded firm said it was one of the largest single contracts it had secured, with the revenue expected to be booked over the next four years, and the majority recognised in 2021.

It explained that schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder that affects more than 20 million people worldwide.

With new avenues of research being explored in recent years, more drugs had been launched, and there was increasing interest in drug development in the field.

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, it said, with deficits frequently observed in memory, attention and executive functions.

Given the importance of the disorder, schizophrenia has been a core area of clinical focus for the company for the last three years as ‘CANTAB’ cognitive assessments had a high degree of sensitivity in measuring those distinct processes, Cambridge Cognition said.

The pharmaceutical company would 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 said it would support all three trials with its computerised cognitive assessment software, ‘CANTAB’, together with associated clinical trial services.

“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,” said chief executive officer Matthew Stork.

“It is an outstanding endorsement for CANTAB in this growing area of research.”

At 1603 BST, shares in Cambridge Cognition Holdings were up 13.92% at 45p.