Cognito, a neurotechnology company pioneering a new class of non-invasive therapies for brain health, today announced three appointments to its executive leadership team: Joe Perekupka as Chief Commercial Officer, Urvashi Tyagi as Chief Technology Officer and Dave Watson as Chief Operating Officer.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261112020754/en/

The appointments strengthen Cognito’s leadership across three critical areas as the company prepares for its next stage of growth: building the commercial infrastructure required to bring a new therapeutic modality to patients, advancing the technology and digital capabilities underlying the Spectris™ platform, and scaling the organization and operations to support commercialization and future expansion.

“We are building Cognito not simply to advance a promising technology, but to create an entirely new therapeutic platform capable of reaching patients at scale,” said Christian Howell, Chief Executive Officer of Cognito. “Joe, Urvashi, and Dave each bring experience that is highly relevant to what comes next for Cognito. Joe has built markets and reimbursement pathways for novel neurotechnology, Urvashi has scaled connected health platforms serving millions of patients, and Dave has helped build the organizational infrastructure required to take a biotechnology company through extraordinary growth. Together, they add tremendous depth to a leadership team preparing Cognito for its next chapter.”

Joe Perekupka, Cognito’s new Chief Commercial Officer, brings more than 20 years of healthcare leadership experience spanning medical technology, digital therapeutics and neuromodulation, with expertise in commercialization, reimbursement and market access. Most recently, as Chief Executive Officer of Freespira, he led the company’s commercial and reimbursement strategy, spearheading efforts that resulted in CMS establishing a distinct HCPCS Level II code and a new national coding classification for biofeedback-based digital therapeutics He previously worked at EVERSANA, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer for a digital therapeutics company, leading the commercialization of a novel at-home therapy for neurological disorders. Prior to that, as Senior Vice President, North America, at BrainsWay, he played a key role in scaling the business from an early-stage commercial organization to a publicly traded company, accelerating market adoption and growth across the region. Earlier in his career, Perekupka held commercial leadership positions at Biotronik and St. Jude Medical, helping drive the adoption and growth of innovative cardiovascular and neuromodulation therapies.

“Cognito has the opportunity to establish an entirely new model for how neurotechnology reaches patients, physicians and health systems,” said Perekupka. “I was drawn to Cognito by its compelling science, it’s at-home treatment model and a team that has been planning for access and real-world adoption well before launch. I’m excited to build on that foundation and help translate the potential of Spectris® into broad patient access.”

Urvashi Tyagi, Cognito’s new Chief Technology Officer, is a product-focused technology executive with more than 20 years of experience building and scaling technology platforms across healthcare, commerce and financial services. Most recently, she served as Chief Technology Officer of Resmed, where she oversaw engineering, product, design, data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, IoT and IT across a global organization. At Resmed, she helped unify hardware, software, AI and data across more than 21 million cloud-connected devices and advanced digital platforms supporting patients and healthcare providers. Tyagi previously served as Chief Technology Officer at ADP and held senior technology and product leadership positions at American Express and Amazon.

“Cognito sits at a fascinating intersection of neuroscience, connected technology, data and patient care,” said Tyagi. “There is an opportunity to build technology that does much more than deliver a therapy – it can create a connected experience around patients, caregivers, and providers; generate meaningful insights; and continually improve how care is delivered. I’m thrilled to join the team at this stage and help build the technology foundation for the Spectris™ platform and its future applications.”

Dave Watson, Cognito’s new Chief Operating Officer, brings extensive experience building and scaling organizations across the biotechnology and life sciences industries. He joins Cognito after more than a decade at Apellis Pharmaceuticals, where he served as General Counsel and Secretary. During his tenure, Watson helped build the infrastructure required to support Apellis’ evolution into a global publicly traded biotechnology company, with two FDA-approved drugs and significant research, clinical, manufacturing and commercial operations, with responsibilities spanning governance, litigation, intellectual property, compliance and privacy, international operations, strategic transactions, financing, corporate development and organizational growth, , and played a key role in its acquisition by Biogen for $5.6 billion. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Revon Systems, Inc., a healthcare information technology company, and practiced corporate law at Frost Brown Todd, Fenwick & West and Taft Stettinius & Hollister.

“Cognito has reached the inflection point where its strong science and compelling product opportunity require an organization capable of executing at scale,” said Watson. “I look forward to working across the company to build the systems, processes, and operating discipline for Cognito as it grows, prepares for commercialization, and expands the potential of its platform.”

Cognito is advancing Spectris AD™, its first therapeutic application of the Spectris™ platform, for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Spectris® uses precisely timed sensory stimulation to generate coordinated activity across brain networks, engaging the brain’s own biology with the goal of supporting and sustaining brain health. The company is also exploring the broader potential of the Spectris™ platform across neurological conditions.

About Cognito

Cognito is a neurotechnology company developing a new therapeutic approach to cognitive and neurological health, designed to work with the brain’s own activity and biology. Born from pioneering neuroscience research at MIT, Cognito brings together neuroscience, engineering, medicine and technology to translate breakthroughs in brain science into practical therapies designed for everyday life. Our first therapeutic application, Spectris AD™, is an investigational, prescription, at-home therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. With our pivotal HOPE study now complete, Cognito is entering an important new phase as we advance Spectris AD™ toward regulatory review, prepare for potential commercialization and continue exploring the broader potential of our science across neurological health. Cognito is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

For more information, visit www.cognitotx.com and follow Cognito on LinkedIn.

Media gallery

About The Author
Business Wire