MapLight Therapeutics – a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company working to develop targeted novel therapeutics to improve the lives of people with brain disorders – recently announced the closing of an oversubscribed $225 million Series C financing to continue the advancement of MapLight’s transformative treatments for neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions.
New investors Novo Holdings, 5AM Ventures, Cowen Healthcare Investments, and others joined MapLight’s existing syndicate in the financing. And this funding round will advance ML-007C-MA, a novel M1/M4 muscarinic agonist agent combined with a precision-matched peripheral muscarinic antagonist, into Phase 2 trials for schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis in 2024 and enable continued progress on the company’s other pipeline programs.
Along with ML-007C-MA, MapLight currently has two other products in clinical development: ML-007 is under study for dyskinesia, and ML-004, a 5HT-1b agonist is currently in Phase 2 for social communication deficits in patients with autism spectrum disorder. And MapLight’s pipeline preclinical assets include ML-016, a GPR-6 antagonist under study for Parkinson’s disease and depression, and ML-009, in development to treat hyperactivity and impulsivity.
In connection with the funding, Jim Trenkle, Ph.D., MBA, Partner in the Venture Investments group at Novo Holdings will join the MapLight Therapeutics Board of Directors.
KEY QUOTES:
“This financing will fuel the important clinical development necessary to bring these innovative therapies to patients.”
— Christopher Kroeger, M.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder
“MapLight has built a diverse pipeline of innovative neuroscience therapeutics targeting a spectrum of Central Nervous System (CNS) disorders where the challenges faced by patients and families are significant and the unmet need is high. This financing will fuel the important clinical development necessary to bring these innovative therapies to patients. The enthusiasm and continued support of our existing investors, combined with the significant commitment from this new slate of top tier funds, provides validation for our circuit-based discovery platform approach, the quality of our clinical assets, and the strong capabilities of our team.”
— Christopher Kroeger, M.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder
“MapLight is advancing what we believe will be the best-in-class muscarinic agent for difficult-to-treat disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis. Schizophrenia alone affects around 3 million adults in the U.S. and 1 percent of the worldwide population. We are delighted to partner with a very strong group of existing and new investors to catalyze significant advancements in the fight against these important central nervous system disorders, and to support the talented, dedicated team at MapLight.”
— Jim Trenkle, Ph.D., MBA, Partner in the Venture Investments group at Novo Holdings
