CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–Cognito, a neurotechnology company developing noninvasive therapies for neurological conditions, has expanded its executive leadership team with the appointments of Urvashi Tyagi as Chief Technology Officer, Joe Perekupka as Chief Commercial Officer and Dave Watson as Chief Operating Officer as it prepares for commercialization and its next phase of growth.
The appointments are intended to strengthen Cognito’s technology development, commercial strategy and operational capabilities as the company advances its Spectris platform, which uses sensory stimulation to influence brain activity.
“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.”
Tyagi joins Cognito with more than 20 years of experience developing and scaling technology platforms across healthcare, financial services and commerce. Most recently, she served as Chief Technology Officer of Resmed, overseeing engineering, product development, design, data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, connected devices and information technology.
During her tenure at Resmed, Tyagi helped integrate hardware, software, artificial intelligence and data capabilities across more than 21 million cloud-connected devices supporting patients and healthcare providers.
Previously, she 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.”
Perekupka brings more than two decades of healthcare leadership experience, with a focus on medical technology, digital therapeutics, neuromodulation, reimbursement and market access.
He most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Freespira, where he led commercial and reimbursement initiatives that contributed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services establishing a distinct HCPCS Level II code and a national coding classification for biofeedback-based digital therapeutics.
Before joining Freespira, Perekupka worked at EVERSANA, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer for a digital therapeutics company and led commercialization efforts for an at-home neurological therapy.
He also served as Senior Vice President for North America at BrainsWay, helping expand its commercial operations and market presence as the company transitioned from an early-stage business to a publicly traded organization.
Earlier in his career, he held commercial leadership positions at Biotronik and St. Jude Medical, focusing on cardiovascular and neuromodulation technologies.
“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.”
Watson joins Cognito after more than a decade at Apellis Pharmaceuticals, where he served as General Counsel and Secretary. During that period, he helped develop the corporate infrastructure supporting Apellis’ expansion into a global publicly traded biotechnology company with two FDA-approved drugs.
His responsibilities included corporate governance, intellectual property, compliance, privacy, international operations, strategic transactions, financing and organizational development.
Watson also played a role in Apellis’ $5.6 billion acquisition by Biogen.
Before Apellis, he served as Executive Vice President of Revon Systems, 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 developing Spectris AD, the first therapeutic application of its Spectris platform, as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
The technology uses precisely timed sensory stimulation to generate coordinated activity across brain networks. The approach is designed to engage biological mechanisms involved in brain function, with the goal of supporting and maintaining brain health.
The company is also investigating additional applications of the Spectris platform across other neurological conditions as it works to expand its therapeutic portfolio.
