The Week of

Before we get to today’s update, we are thrilled to announce our support of the newest addition to the JLS Portfolio - Sinaptica Therapeutics. We have been following Sinaptica closely for years, love the team and technology, and their recent Phase II clinical data was too good to pass up.

Sinaptica Therapeutics™ has developed a breakthrough personalized closed-loop neuromodulation therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) that works by enhancing neuroplasticity via neurostimulation of key brain networks involved in memory.

 Using a proprietary combination of TMS-EEG and ML-derived algorithms, the company’s approach targets the Default Mode Network (DMN) on a patient-specific level to drive the exact stimulation protocol that the patient needs. No one-size-fits-all neurostim. And the technology and IP estate provide exclusivity well beyond AD into broader CNS/Psychiatry as well as general brain performance.

Critically, this technology works - Sinaptica has completed two successful Phase 2 clinical trials, with 52-week data showing an unprecedented slowing of declines in gold-standard clinical endpoints across cognition, function, and behavior with minimal side effects. Furthermore, Sinaptica has a new accelerated FDA path and new reimbursement codes specific to its proprietary technology.

If you have any specific questions about Sinaptica or just want to learn a bit more, feel free to contact us directly.

Now let’s get to today’s update!

Quest Diagnostics announced plans to offer Roche’s newly FDA-cleared pTau217 blood test, which can help doctors determine whether patients with cognitive decline have brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The test measures pTau217, a blood biomarker associated with amyloid buildup in the brain, and could provide a simpler alternative to expensive PET scans or invasive spinal-fluid testing. While the test doesn't diagnose Alzheimer’s on its own, it could help doctors determine which patients need additional testing or may be candidates for treatment. Here’s more: https://substack.com/home/post/p-212574421

Basking Biosciences reported positive Phase 1 results for BB-025, a reversal agent designed to act as an emergency “off switch” for its experimental ischemic stroke treatment, BB-031.

In 60 healthy volunteers, BB-025 completely reversed BB-031’s activity and restored normal platelet function within five minutes, potentially giving doctors a way to quickly restore clotting if dangerous bleeding occurs. Check it out: https://substack.com/home/post/p-212775905

Philips landed an award worth up to $33.7 million from ARPA-H to develop AI-enabled robotic technology that could make advanced stroke treatment available at more hospitals.

The project combines robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced imaging, and steerable catheters to help perform thrombectomies (procedures that physically remove blood clots from the brain). Philips will work with Johns Hopkins University and Boston University to develop technology for remote-assisted and increasingly automated procedures.

About 335,000 Americans are eligible for thrombectomy each year, yet only around 12% receive one, partly because more than half of Americans live over an hour from a hospital capable of performing the procedure. Philips hopes its technology can eventually bring specialist-level stroke care to patients regardless of where they live.

Here’s more: https://jlsfund.substack.com/p/this-ai-powered-robot-could-change

Scientists may have found a way to restore some of the aging brain’s natural cleanup system.

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai studied TIMP2, a protein associated with youth that appears to help maintain microglia. These are immune cells that essentially act as the brain’s housekeeping crew. As we age, these cells can become less effective at clearing cellular debris and can shift into inflammatory states associated with cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease.

In aged mice, researchers found that injections of TIMP2 shifted microglia away from these inflammatory states and improved their ability to clear cellular waste. Conversely, removing TIMP2 caused microglia to show characteristics associated with aging and brain injury.

The research is still very early and has only been demonstrated in mice, so this isn't an anti-aging treatment for humans. But the findings suggest that restoring certain proteins that decline with age could eventually provide a new way to target brain aging, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative conditions. Check it out: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-74906-z