Sarasota psychiatric practice becomes part of network

A psychiatric practice based in Sarasota has become part of a therapeutic network. Cohen & Associates has been incorporated into Hope Therapeutics, Inc., a company that has also named Dr. Rebecca Cohen as its medical director.

Cohen established Cohen & Associates in 2014 and has become a nationally recognized expert in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), according to the clinic’s website. 

She will join Hope Therapeutics, which is a growing health care company that is creating a network of interventional psychiatry practices offering TMS, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, ketamine and other therapies for patients with suicidal depression and related disorders. Its clinics augment drug therapy with digital therapeutic platforms. 

“I am thrilled to be assuming a leadership role in Hope Therapeutics at a moment when TMS is demonstrating dramatic results for patients with potential to heal depression in weeks, rather than months," Cohen says in a statement. "Together with Hope’s leadership, we aim to remain on the cutting edge of life-transforming therapy for depression and PTSD and to rapidly expand to change the lives of the 13 million Americans who tragically contemplate suicide each year,."

Hope Therapeutics is a subsidiary of NRx Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded company incorporated in Delaware (Nasdaq: NRXP).

Through Hope Therapeutics, NRx plans to create a national and ultimately international network of interventional psychiatric centers that combine drug treatments with brain-altering therapies. 

Cohen will oversee medical standards of care at Hope's Florida locations, as the company prepares to expand along the west coast and in the Palm Beach area, according to a statement.

Hope Therapeutics was poised to acquire eight practices in Florida in 2025, each with revenue of about $5 million, “profitable centers that the company believes can experience substantial revenue growth through the addition of a broader array of comprehensive services," according to NRx’s 2024 year-end filings.

NRx, which is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on product development for treating suicidal depression and PTSD, had about $1.4 million in cash at the end of 2024. It closed on $10.9 million in financing with an institutional investor in 2024 with an agreement for up to $16.3 million in debt capital, then in January secured $8.5 million through a combination of convertible debt and a stock offering.

In August, NRx reported it had received approval for $7.8 million of debt financing to support the acquisition of Cohen and Associates LLC, NeuroSpa TMS Holdings and Dura Medical, as part of its Florida expansion of Hope Therapeutics. NeuroSpa TMS is based in Tampa and has locations in Brandon, Citrus Park, Lakeland, Pinellas Park and Wesley Chapel. In September, Hope Therapeutics acquired Dura Medical, which has locations in Naples and Fort Myers.