Avata Biosciences Holdings Ltd. and Oceanus Bio Inc. have inked a drug discovery and development deal worth up to $95 million for two of Avata’s cannabidiol compounds.
Draig Therapeutics Ltd. launched with a $140 million series A and an AMPA receptor modulator program that has completed phase I and will start a phase II trial in major depressive disorder later in 2025. The series A also will enable the company to advance two small-molecule GABA receptor modulators that have the potential to treat a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, into the clinic in 2026.
Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is buying Sage Therapeutics Inc. for about $795 million. The deal brings Supernus, already firmly in the CNS market, the only U.S. FDA-approved oral treatment for postpartum depression. Supernus CEO Jack Khattar said he believes sales will support the acquisition, but some analysts had their doubts.
The BioWorld Neurological Diseases Index continued its downward slide into 2025, with 15 of the 20 component stocks posting losses. After dipping into negative territory in late February, the index dropped 15.99% by the end of March and closed May down 22.34%.
Newco Elkedonia SAS has raised €11 million (US$12.7 million) in a seed round, which will fund it to take a potentially first-in-class ELK-1 inhibitor into the clinic in the treatment of refractory depression. ELK-1 plays a pivotal role in neuroplasticity and in reward circuits in the brain, which when disrupted can lead to depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mosanna Therapeutics secured $80 million in a series A round to develop MOS-118 as a treatment for the nearly 1 billion people globally with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The company has completed the formulation work to make the drug into a nasal spray and the initial proof-of-concept animal studies and is now ready to enter clinical trials in patients with OSA.
Aribio Co. Ltd. signed a $600 million license deal with Acino International AG, an Arcera Life Sciences subsidiary, granting the latter commercial rights to its oral Alzheimer’s disease therapy, AR-1001, in select countries including the Middle East.
Corestemchemon Inc. is planning to file a BLA for Neuronata-R (lenzumestrocel) by the end of 2025 to gain accelerated approval from the U.S. FDA, company officials confirmed to BioWorld during a June 2 interview. Neuronata-R is an autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy that first gained approval in South Korea in 2014 to delay the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
As it advances its nonopioid analgesic ATX-101 breakthrough therapy through a phase IIb registration trial, Allay Therapeutics secured $57.5 million in a series D round, which included an investment from the company’s Japanese partner. ATX-101, a configuration of sodium ion channel blocker bupivacaine and a biopolymer, which is in a phase IIb registration study, is designed to offer pain relief following total knee arthroplasty.
The U.S. FDA gave Sarepta Therapeutics Inc.’s rAAVrh74 viral vector, used in an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a step up, making it one of the first platforms to receive the agency’s platform technology designation.
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