CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cadent Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies to improve the lives of patients with cognitive, mood, and movement disorders, today announced today that it has closed the $15 million final equity tranche of its previously announced $40 million Series B financing. The Company plans to allocate all proceeds to continue the development for its lead cognitive disorder asset, CAD-9303, a novel, first-in-class, positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors for the treatment of the cognitive deficits and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. CAD-9303 is currently being evaluated in the Affinity-1 trial, a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled study.
“The successful completion of our Series B financing signifies the continued support we have from our current investors and their belief in our programs,” said Jodie Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of Cadent Therapeutics. “We will be using these proceeds to advance our CAD-9303 program, which has continued to enroll patients despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This program has the potential to transform the lives of patients with schizophrenia and other cognitive deficits. With the close of this tranche, we now have sufficient cash runway into the second quarter of 2021.”
“Cadent’s first-in-class programs have the potential to address a number of neurological conditions limited available treatments. We are excited to continue to support the company alongside this strong group of investors,” said Peter Barrett, Ph.D., Partner at Atlas Venture and Chairman of the Board.
The Series B financing was led by Cowen Healthcare Investments and Atlas Venture, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners, Access Industries, Clal Biotechnology Industries and Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cadent will be delaying the initiation of the planned clinical trial of CAD-1883, the company’s lead movement disorder asset, in spinocerebellar ataxia, and focusing resources on CAD-9303 at this time.
About Cadent Therapeutics
Cadent Therapeutics is creating therapies for the treatment of cognitive, mood, and movement disorders. The company combines target specificity, patient selection, drug design and optimization, and novel quantitative endpoints to create first-in-class molecules to treat cognitive and movement disorders. Cadent Therapeutics is rapidly advancing its pipeline of positive allosteric modulators within indications including schizophrenia and movement disorders. The company has an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Novartis to develop a negative allosteric modulator, now in Phase 2 for the treatment of treatment resistant depression. Investors include Atlas Venture, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Qiming Venture Partners, Access Industries, Clal Biotechnology Industries, Novartis Corporate and Slater Technology Fund. For more information, please visit cadenttx.com.
About the Affinity-1 Trial
The Affinity-1 trial is a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled study that will evaluate the safety, tolerability, and exploratory efficacy assessments of CAD-9303 in patients with schizophrenia and healthy volunteers. Outcome measures include tests of cognitive function, a standard negative symptom sub-scale, and biomarkers including EEG (electroencephalography) assessment of event-related potentials known to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia.
