The largest investment into a spin-out from Cardiff University, Draig Therapeutics targets processes in the brain to develop more effective treatment options for neuropsychiatric diseases.
Draig Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases, has launched having raised $140 million (£107 million) in the last nine months.
The oversubscribed Series A financing was led by Access Biotechnology, with participation from Canaan Partners, SR One, Sanofi Ventures, Schroders Capital along with seed investors SV Health Investors, which co-founded the company, and ICG.
Draig was formed through a partnership between Cardiff University’s Medicines Discovery Institute and SV Health Investors and launched in 2024. SV Health Investors and ICG provided initial seed funding and built the company. It is the largest investment into a spin-out from Cardiff University.
Draig Therapeutics will target key processes in the brain – the glutamate and GABA pathways – to develop new and more effective treatment options.
“We have unique scientific expertise in safely and effectively modulating the core Glutamate and GABA pathways in the brain, which play a critical role in neuropsychiatric disorders. Our knowledge of balancing the chemical neurotransmitters in the brain in neuropsychiatric conditions underpins Draig’s pipeline of novel treatments,” said Simon Ward, director of Cardiff University’s Medicines Discovery Institute and of Draig Therapeutics.
Towards clinical development
The new funds will enable Draig Therapeutics to advance its lead candidate drug, DT-101, into Phase 2 trials this year for Major Depressive Disorder. DT-101 was designed to allow effective modulation of the AMPA receptor without compromising safety. This was borne out in data from a well-tolerated Phase 1a programme in over 60 subjects, which clearly demonstrated target engagement using the novel technique of magnetoencephalography and will be presented at an upcoming scientific meeting.
The funding will also enable Draig Therapeutics to advance two other drugs towards clinical development next year.
The Medicines Discovery Institute was launched at Cardiff University in 2017, with supportive funding from the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government’s Sêr Cymru scheme, to translate the latest biomedical research into new therapies. Significant investment was also received from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Medr (formerly known as the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales), and The Wolfson Foundation.
“From the outset, we were drawn to Draig’s bold scientific vision and the founding team’s deep expertise in unlocking high value but previously difficult-to-drug targets in neuropsychiatric disorders,” said Charles Dunn, Principal at SV Health Investors. “Built around an exciting clinical-stage asset, Draig is a perfect example of SV’s strategy to create and build world-class companies around innovative science to deliver high-impact drugs to patients and address major unmet needs.”
