Newleos Therapeutics Secures $93.5M Series A to Advance CNS Drug Development
Slice of Healthcare Team
Feb 19, 2025
Key Highlights
- Newleos Therapeutics secures $93.5 million in Series A funding, led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with participation from Novo Holdings A/S, Longwood Fund, DCVC Bio, and Arkin Bio Capital.
- Clinical-stage pipeline in-licensed from Roche, featuring multiple oral small molecules for anxiety, substance use disorders, and cognitive impairment.
- Lead candidate NTX-1955, a first-in-class GABAA-γ1 selective PAM, aims to treat anxiety disorders with a differentiated mechanism while avoiding side effects of traditional treatments.
- Additional assets target social anxiety (V1a antagonist), substance use disorders (TAAR1 partial agonist), and cognitive impairment (GABAA-α5 NAM).
- Seasoned leadership team with CNS drug development expertise, including David Donabedian, Ph.D., and Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D.
Source: Business Wire
Notable Quotes
“ Anxiety and substance use disorders represent some of the most prevalent neuropsychiatric indications with high unmet need, impacting over 60 million individuals in the U.S. ”
– David Donabedian, Ph.D., Founding CEO at Newleos
“ A majority of anxiety patients fail to respond to first-line therapies, highlighting the need for truly differentiated medicines. ”
– Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Founding Executive Chairman at Newleos
“ We believe the field of neuropsychiatry is experiencing robust innovation with the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes. ”
– Ming Cheah, Ph.D., VP at Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Why This Matters
anxiety and substance use disorders existing treatments often fall short Newleos Therapeutics' innovative drug pipeline first-in-class and best-in-class therapies address gaps in current CNS treatments strong financial backing and a leadership team experienced in CNS drug development advance promising therapeutics that could transform mental health treatment
