Acton Medical Tech Company Eying Acquisition Opps

Fresh off of announcing positive results of a trial of its eye test to identify Alzheimer’s patients, Cognoptix is reportedly preparing for a potential sale of the company.

Headquartered in Acton, Cognoptix describes itself as a medical technology company focused on developing and commercializing a diagnostic system to aid in early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.

This week, the privately held company may be making preparations to put itself up for sale, according to reports by the Boston Business Journal and Reuters.com.

From BBJ:

The newswire cited an unnamed person close to the discussions, who confirmed that Acton, Mass.-based Cognoptix has hired Robert W. Baird & Co., an investment bank based in Wisconsin, to assist in the planning to potentially sell the company. Reuters said Cognoptix, which is privately held, and Baird did not return calls or emails seeking comment.

These reports come just days after Cognoptix announced the results of its multi-site clinical trial of SAPPHIRE II, an eye test designed to identify beta amyloid signatures in their eyes.

In the trial, SAPPHIRE II achieved sensitivity of 85 percent and specificity of 95 percent in differentiating 20 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s from 20 healthy volunteers, according to a company press release.

“No doubt, this clinical milestone represents a giant step forward in the development of an early-stage, non-invasive diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Paul Hartung, president and CEO of Cognoptix, in the announcement. “The Cognoptix eye test is designed to be a simple but reliable system of early-stage diagnosis to allow treatment before significant neuronal loss and irreversible brain damage occurs.”