This was the Cortex capsule summary in the January issue of NeuroInvestment, released to subscribers 1/3/00, when the price was 0.70. The timing of the ADHD may be slightly delayed. Thought this might be of interest.
NeuroInvestment (www.neuroinvestment.com)
Cortex: Cortex has been quietly setting the stage for Ampakine development, while ensconced in the relative anonymity of the OTC Bulletin Board. Organon has not disclosed which of the Ampakines they will take into Phase II in schizophrenia, but they will do so before the end of 1H:00. When they do, Cortex will receive $2.5 million as a milestone payment. The depression indication is still pending the development of more potent Ampakine molecules. But the attention-getting news over the next half-year will be one, perhaps two additional corporate deals. The first and most certain (we expect it to be signed by mid-late January) is for Ampakines in the treatment of ADHD. The deal will be with a European company already involved in the ADHD arena. We suspect it may be Novartis, whose Ritalin franchise is under heavy siege from Shire's Adderall, as well as a host of Ritalin variants in clinical trials. The partner would pick up development costs, licensing and (mainly) milestones might add up to the $30 million range, and standard royalties would apply. A later, larger-scale deal is under discussion with another European company, a deal which could potentially wrap up all Ampakine indications with the exception of those already licensed (i.e. schizophrenia, depression, and ADHD). This would mean Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment, and dementias associated with Parkinson's and MS. This deal could end up with Cortex becoming the US marketing arm for the European firm, which has no US marketing presence, in exchange for guaranteed funding for several years, development costs, and loans covering the cost of building a sales force. This deal could be scaled back to a more standard licensing deal for specific dementia-related targets, but if it ends up taking on this broad spectrum framework, it would completely redefine Cortex. Based on these developments, Cortex does expect to be profitable this fiscal year, a remarkable turnaround. There are also a number of academic and pharmaceutical entities interested in doing trials with Ampakines; trials are likely this year in MS dementia, TBI, and spinal cord injury. An Italian company believes Ampakines may have value in autism, and is interested in pursuing this. Cortex's days on the corporate critical list are now over, and the potential that we have envisioned for the Ampakine platform since 1995, is now starting to take shape. We tend to avoid recommending companies that trade on the OTC Bulletin Board, due to the fiscal and trading issues involved, but if we did, Cortex would be a prime candidate. 2000 may be a breakout year for the Company. Our year-end target is 4. |
