Q&A with Dr. Joel Ross
Founder of CogWellin
Principal Series:
Family Office Insights sits down with Dr. Joel Ross to discuss how his company CogWellin is working to prevent and delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease through new medical advances.
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Tell us what CogWellin is and how it is related to Alzheimer’s disease?
CogWellin is a provisionally patented formulation which when FDA approved will become the world’s safest prescription medication to halt, prevent and delay progression of the dreaded disease: Alzheimer's.
My formulation of an all-natural derived derivative of aspirin called salicylic is being made into a once-daily capsule of two molecules of salicylic acid which will deliver the "magic bullet" to millions of Alzheimer sufferers, as well as to those who are at high risk for developing Alzheimer's.
What is your solution for fighting Alzheimer’s?
The word “solution” is defined as solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation. To solve the problem of Alzheimer’s, we have to find what causes it and remove it as soon and safely as possible. We look at cancer as a problem with cancer cells; identify the cancer cells and remove them with surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy alone or in combination.
In all Alzheimer's disease patients’ brains are millions of poisoned nerve cells infected with a toxin called ac-Tau, short for the term acetylated Tau. Tau stands for the scientific words, Tubulin Associated Unit, a normal protein necessary to keep the vast highway of "neuronal filaments" tethered together. I have discovered this ac-Tau is found in living Alzheimer's individuals and my approach will show it can be and will be safely removed by using my new formulation of salicylic acid.
Why is Alzheimer’s such a hard disease to treat?
I have been "treating" Alzheimer’s disease individuals for over 35 years. As a physician, I offer and deliver medical care for all patients with Alzheimer’s disease. That is not hard to do: it is a combination of compassion, caring, and sympathy for the patient and loved ones that defines the passion I provide for my thousands of Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones. What has been absolutely heretofore impossible to do until now, is to stop or slow progression of Alzheimer’s as well as prevent it from occurring.
I believe my unparalleled experience in learning from all my Alzheimer's patients, their family and friends, studying their brains post-mortem, reading all that has been written on the disease, attending conferences with the world’s most respected researchers keeping an always open mind to new approaches, has permitted me the very unique opportunity to search and finally find the cause of AD. We now can offer a truly meaningful treatment that first identifies ac-Tau and removes it from the brains of patients with and without symptoms of Alzheimer’s. It’s that simple.
Every study conducted in the history of Alzheimer’s (I have been a principal investigator for over 130 such clinical trials) has failed to slow, delay or prevent it.
This led me to find the best solution.
What makes your solution better than others out there on the market?
There are no good "solutions" to Alzheimer’s disease on the market. It has never been solved until now and here’s why: Upon autopsy, what percent of Alzheimer's patients brains have ac-Tau compared to those older adults who died without Alzheimer’s? The answer is 100% to 0%. No ac-Tau means no Alzheimer’s disease. Presence of ac-Tau means you have Alzheimer’s with or without symptoms, but eventually all those with ac-Tau will have symptoms of AD unless my approach is instituted and early in their silent battle to prevent the disease.
My approach is light years above any study being conducted including the billions being wasted on amyloid lowering studies. The thought for the past 25 years in the world of so-called experts has been that the protein all humans make called amyloid is simply overproduced and/or under excreted from the Alzheimer’s brains. These same experts convinced big pharma— and all their stock holders— that removing such amyloid from the Alzheimer’s patients’ brains must work and the FDA had been duped into believing the risks were far lower than the theoretical benefit and billions of dollars were wasted. More importantly, thousands of patients were enrolled in these clinical trials only to have life threatening brain swelling, brain bleeding and worsening of their Alzheimer’s.
Still a few large pharma companies such as Biogen, Lilly, Merck and others are holding on to the very slim to zero chance that such approaches will help the AD patient and family. Such parma companies are using infusions of antibodies to remove brain amyloid, toxic man-made chemicals foreign to the brain to lower production of essential amyloid. They lead also to skin cancer, eye damage and many other toxic side effects. They will fail, and this I am most confident in predicting.
The next target, the so-called “key opinion leaders” known as KOLs came up with was another good protein the human brain makes to help transport information along the neuronal network called microtubules. This good protein is called p-Tau which is an abbreviation for phosphorylated Tau. Here again billions are being spend in research and development and doomed not only to fail, but most importantly the doctors at both pharma and the FDA are committing the gravest of sins, the Hippocratic Oath:“primum non nocere” orfirst do no harm.
These scientists have yet again convinced venture capitalists, investment firms with “health care specialists” on board, pharma CEOs, chief scientific officers and COO’s to pony up billions of dollars fund and to launch human trials, testing once again potentially very toxic antibodies and manmade chemicals (foreign to the human genome) to remove what the brain needs to survive: that is, p-Tau.
What progress have you made thus far?
I have a provisionally patented formulation of a once daily capsule of two molecules of nature’s safest hormone made by every plant and tree in the world: salicylic acid. This naturally produced chemical is indeed a hormone essential for plant survival. It is not made by humans but is an essential “vitamin S” that has been shown in animal models of Alzheimer’s to dramatically restore these animals to normal behavior, as well as restore memory and brain size compared to similar Alzheimer’s animals not given this natural hormone.
Who are you currently working with in terms of advisory board members and staff?
I have the world’s most respected Alzheimer's experts on my team. They have all decided to help me prove CogWellin is the answer the world has been waiting for over 5,000 years. Scientists from Cornell University, Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, Boston University, Hofstra University Medical School and Neuropathology Laboratory in Frankfurt/Main Germany are but a few of the world’s most prestigious institutions have had a 180 degree turn in their approach to Alzheimer's now believing the time for ac-Tau to be removed from the patients with or without AD symptoms is NOW.
What type of financing are you hoping to raise?
CogWellin is seeking an immediate infusion of $1.7 million to begin the first Alzheimer’s clinical trial in 2017. I expect CogWelllin will lower the levels of ac-Tau in many Alzheimer’s patients along with the slowing of disease. I will then require only 10 million dollars to fund a phase II study testing CogWellin in AD subjects in a one year clinical trial.
I will then request 240 million to begin simultaneously and complete three separate pioneering studies called ASAP, ASAT and ADIT. They stand for: Alzheimer’s Symptoms Are Preventable for those ages 45 and over who are without symptoms, have a parental history of Alzheimer’s as well as ac-Tau; Alzheimer’s Symptoms Are Treatable for those ages 45 and over who have very mild memory loss, parental history of Alzheimer’s as well as ac-Tau; and finally Alzheimer’s Dementia Is Treatable for those ages 45 and over who sadly have Alzheimer’s Dementia and ac-Tau.
I expect all three studies to start and finish by the end of 2021 and receive the first FDA approval for a disease modifying and prevention drug by 2022, which will result in a savings of hundreds of billions of dollars to the US government alone. The worldwide benefit and impact could be in the trillions of dollars.
Dr. Joel Ross
Dr. Joel Ross is a Primary Care Geriatrician and Principal Investigator at Memory Enhancement Centers of America located in Eatontown, New Jersey. Dr. Ross is the Founder and sole owner of the Memory Enhancement Centers of America which is a state of the art facility dedicated to improving the quality of lives of those struggling with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
By working closely with the pharmaceutical industry and the Food and Drug Administration, his center conducts the most state of the art diagnostic and therapeutic intervention testing the latest medications under development. Dr. Ross has been Principal Investigator or Sub-investigator on nearly every medications tested for Alzheimer’s disease in clinical trials since 1994 including the currently four FDA approved medications: Aricept/Exelon/Razadyne and Namenda. Dr. Ross has conducted over130 Alzheimer’s disease research protocols as the Principal Investigator or sub-investigator. He has lectured worldwide on Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Ross received his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, where he graduated Cum Laude. He completed his internship and residency at Nassau County Medical Center, in East Meadow, New York, where he then became Chief Resident. He is certified in Geriatric Medicine, Internal Medicine and a Certified Physician Investigator by the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. He was the founding member of the geriatric fellowship program at Jersey Shore Medical University and in 2000was recognized as an “advocate for excellence” as program director-Geriatric Residency at Jersey Shore Medical University.
Dr. Ross was awarded the “top doctor” in the field of Geriatric Medicine in New Jersey by his peers. Dr. Ross received the Humanitarian of Year Award in 2011 from the Alzheimer’s Disease Caregivers of Central NJ. Dr. Ross is a former trustee of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.
In 2015, Dr. Ross formed CogWellin LLC a pharmaceutical company devoted to the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and related disorders. He owns the provisional patent for a long acting version of salsalate. CogWellin hopes to raise sufficient capital to conduct three pivotal studies leading to possible FDA approval of the first drug effective in preventing and/or slowing or stopping progression of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
For more information, please visit http://www.cogwellin.com/ or email Dr. Ross at jrossmd@memorycenternj.com.