Cortexa Therapeutics announced on April 21 that its founder, Nathan Cole, has been nominated for the “Best Nonprofit Advocate” award by the Arizona Capitol Times. Public voting for the award is open through May 1.
Cole is an active-duty Marine aviator and former infantry corpsman who was diagnosed with ALS at age 31. Instead of stepping back, he founded Cortexa Therapeutics to address the disease and support others facing similar diagnoses. “People like me don’t have time to wait, and neither do the thousands of families navigating this diagnosis right now,” said Nathan Cole, Founder of Cortexa Therapeutics. “This nomination belongs to every person in the ALS community who has shared their story, pushed for awareness, and refused to accept that incremental progress is enough. I’m honored to stand with them.”
With over a decade of Naval service including deployments in support of the Global War on Terror, Cole said his experience shaped his approach at Cortexa: resilience, purpose, and urgency guide his work as a husband and father of two young children. The company focuses on a dual-pathway strategy targeting excitotoxicity and calcium dysregulation—two mechanisms involved in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that are often overlooked or underfunded—and aims to move its first treatment toward human trials within a year.
Cole’s advocacy also includes participating in ALS Awareness Day at the Arizona State Capitol alongside patients and caregivers sharing their experiences about living with ALS.
The Arizona Capitol Times awards program marks its 120th year recognizing individuals making an impact across communities in Arizona; winners are determined by public vote. More information about voting can be found at https://shorturl.at/N0UTj before May 1.
Cortexa Therapeutics describes itself as a biotech startup pioneering new approaches to treating ALS and related neurodegenerative diseases by focusing on underlying causes through precision-driven strategies.
