EuMentis Therapeutics Inc. (“EuMentis”), a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, including its lead clinical-stage programs for ASD and TS, today announced the closing of $20 million of a targeted $40 million Series B financing from a private family office. EuMentis is in active discussion with other investors to complete its Series B round.
EuMentis will use the proceeds from the $20 million financing to: 1) advance its lead clinical candidate EM-113, a novel uncompetitive fast-off N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) agonist, into a Phase 2 clinical trial in a subset of ASD patients with elevated glutamate levels in the brain, and 2) accelerate the development of its earlier-stage fast-off NMDAR antagonist product candidates through IND filing and completion of Phase 1 clinical trials. The active ingredient in EM-113 has been shown previously in a placebo-controlled trial to be safe and effective in pediatric ASD patients using a proprietary imaging biomarker to select responder patients. The complete Series B financing will enable EuMentis to conduct an additional randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial of EM-221, its best-in-class PDE10A inhibitor, in TS patients. Both clinical studies are expected to start in the 2nd half of the year.
Mark Tepper, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of EuMentis Therapeutics, stated, “This financing represents a major step forward for EuMentis and allows us to advance our vision of becoming a pharmaceutical company focused on neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions with high unmet need and few or no approved therapeutic options. EuMentis has a highly experienced team in place with deep expertise and a proven track record of delivering transformative medicines. We believe that EuMentis’ novel therapies have the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life of patients suffering from autism, Tourette syndrome and traumatic brain injury, and other serious neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopment conditions. We likewise look forward to advancing EM-221 into a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical study for Tourette syndrome with additional Series B capital.”
About EM-113 for Autism Spectrum Disorder
“Patients with autism spectrum disorder suffer with problems of communication and behavior, which, at present, cannot be effectively treated with any approved medications. Hundreds of thousands of children and their families are desperately in need of better medical care to treat this disorder. Based on our novel biomarker-driven patient selection strategy derived from recent compelling clinical data, EM-113 has the potential to be the first therapy to treat a core symptom of autism spectrum disorder. We are delighted to be able to move quickly into Phase 2 with EM-113 in the second half of the year,” said Randall Marshall, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at EuMentis.
