Draig Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company co-founded by Cardiff University and SV Health Investors and headquartered across Newton, Massachusetts and Cardiff, United Kingdom, has closed an oversubscribed $65 million Series B financing. The round was led by new investor Deep Track Capital, with participation from Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, British Business Bank and Jefferson Life Sciences, joining existing backers SV Health Investors, ICG, Access Biotechnology, Canaan Partners, SR One, Sanofi Ventures and Schroders Capital. Proceeds will be used to accelerate clinical development of the company’s pipeline of highly specific AMPA receptor and GABAA receptor modulators.
Draig’s scientific approach is built around precise modulation of the major neurocircuits underlying neuropsychiatric disorders. AMPA receptors and GABAA receptors are the principal mediators of fast excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain respectively, and their dysregulation is implicated in conditions including major depressive disorder, anxiety and cognitive impairment. By developing highly selective modulators of these validated targets, Draig aims to move beyond the broad-spectrum mechanisms of legacy psychiatric drugs toward therapies that engage specific neurocircuits with greater precision and a more favorable safety profile.
The company’s lead program, DT-101, is an AMPA receptor potentiator—also described as a positive allosteric modulator—designed to address significant unmet need in major depressive disorder, a condition that remains one of the largest treatment gaps in medicine. DT-101 has demonstrated encouraging safety, tolerability and target engagement data in early studies and displays a pulsatile pharmacokinetic profile that the company believes is important for both efficacy and safety. Two Phase 2 studies of DT-101 in patients with MDD are currently ongoing: a global monotherapy study and a US-based study evaluating DT-101 in an adjunct setting alongside existing antidepressants. Beyond DT-101, Draig is advancing additional AMPA and GABAA modulators toward the clinic, building a broader pipeline designed to address multiple neuropsychiatric disorders through the same precision receptor biology platform.
The oversubscribed Series B close comes less than two years after the company’s founding, during which Draig has built an international organization, initiated two Phase 2 trials and advanced its broader pipeline toward clinical readiness—a pace that lead investor Deep Track Capital highlights as evidence of strong execution alongside the underlying science. The financing is expected to fund DT-101 through key Phase 2 data readouts and support parallel pipeline advancement.
KEY QUOTES:
“This oversubscribed financing from an exceptional group of new investors marks an exciting milestone for Draig as we continue to advance our transformative, best-in-class pipeline. Major depressive disorder remains one of the largest unmet needs in medicine. Our next-generation AMPA receptor modulator, DT-101, has shown encouraging safety, tolerability and target engagement data and displays a pulsatile pharmacokinetic profile which gives us real conviction in its potential. This new financing will enable us to accelerate the development of our pipeline and bring us closer to our ultimate goal: to restore the brain to a healthier state and enable patients to live their best lives.”
Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, PhD, JD, President and CEO, Draig Therapeutics
“Draig’s laser-focused execution is a testament to the strength of not only its science, but also its team. In less than two years, the Company has built an international organisation of dedicated individuals, initiated two Phase 2 trials in MDD and advanced its broader pipeline towards the clinic. We are excited to partner with Draig as they continue to advance their best-in-class neuromodulators of validated molecular targets with potential to address significant unmet medical needs.”
Rebecca Luse, Managing Director, Deep Track Capital
