CogState Ltd Announces New Executive Appointments For Clinical Trials And Healthcare Business Units

NEW HAVEN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The cognitive science company, Cogstate Ltd (ASX:CGS) announced today two key appointments to executive positions.

“The accomplished new leadership I’m announcing today bring a wealth of experience growing organizations, in addition to technical operational expertise that will add value to our business as well as our customers’ businesses”

George Hunnewell has been named Chief Operating Officer of Cogstate and President of the Cogstate Clinical Trials division. Hunnewell, who previously served as Corporate Vice President, Clinical Research Services for Parexel International Corporation, will be responsible for the company’s worldwide operations including Regulatory & Quality Assurance, Product Development, Human Resources, and will have full P&L responsibility for the Clinical Trials business. As an accomplished senior executive, Hunnewell has deep general management experience including sales and marketing, operations, finance, as well as leading multiple international mergers and acquisitions. George earned an AB in Mechanical Engineering from Harvard University and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Also announced today is the appointment of Frank Cheng as President of Healthcare, where he will be responsible for the commercialization of Cogstate technology in primary care medicine. Cheng brings extensive medical device experience, having achieved regulatory clearance and reimbursement for multiple devices and diagnostics across international jurisdictions including the United States, the European Union, Canada, China and Japan. Cheng most recently served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing & Business Development at Stereotaxis Inc., and his previous experience includes roles at both GE Healthcare and Roche Diagnostics. Frank holds a BBA in International Finance from Wuhan University in China and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.

Both Cheng and Hunnewell will report to Brad O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer of Cogstate, and will be based in the U.S.A.

“The accomplished new leadership I’m announcing today bring a wealth of experience growing organizations, in addition to technical operational expertise that will add value to our business as well as our customers’ businesses,” commented Cogstate CEO, Brad O’Connor.

These appointments also formalize an organizational structure that will support growth in Cogstate’s two core verticals – Clinical Trials and Healthcare.

O’Connor added, “There is a substantial growth opportunity for Cogstate’s Clinical Trials business and George Hunnewell brings to Cogstate vast experience gained in the clinical trials market from his time at Parexel, where George was part of a team that grew from 3,000 to over 20,000 staff. While Cogstate will continue to seek growth through the expanding areas of research in Clinical Trials, more than ever Healthcare must also be an area of focus. There is incredible promise in the large number of potential Alzheimer’s disease therapies in the later stages of development, and the prospect of an available therapy has caused healthcare systems around the world to ask how technology can be deployed to better identify changes in cognition that are an important sign of neuro-degeneration. As the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase in line with life expectancy, so will the need to provide doctors with better cognitive assessment tools. Frank Cheng brings to Cogstate significant experience in respect of regulatory, market access, reimbursement and adoption that is so critical to the successful launch of a medical device. As Cogstate begins to prepare for the future launch of our technology into a primary care market, Frank adds critical skills and experience to our management team.”

About Cogstate

Cogstate Ltd (ASX:CGS) is a leading cognitive science company dedicated to simplifying the measurement of cognition in clinical trials, academic research and healthcare. Cogstate is a pioneer in commercializing rapid, reliable and highly sensitive computerised cognitive tests and provides expert support for neuropsychological and functional assessments to drive higher quality outcome measures. Cogstate customers include the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies; military and elite sporting organizations; physicians and patients; renowned academic institutions and public-private partnerships.

For more information visit www.cogstate.com.