Cadent Therapeutics Secures $40 Million Series B Financing and Enters Exclusive Licensing and Collaboration Agreement with Novartis
VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on November 15, 2018 (U.S. local time), Cadent Therapeutics (“Cadent”), a precision neuroscience company headquartered in Massachusetts, announced the closing of a $40 million Series B financing round. The round 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. In addition, the company appointed Dr. Bob (Ibrahim) Dagher as its Chief Medical Officer.
This round of financing will be primarily used to advance the Phase 2 clinical trials of Cadent’s drug candidates targeting essential tremor and spinocerebellar ataxia, as well as to expand its board of directors.
Currently, cognitive and motor impairments affect the ability of millions of Americans to think, speak, understand, and act. Ion channels play a crucial role in interneuronal communication and in regulating the generation of neural signals. Cadent is developing a novel allosteric modulator of ion channels to improve neuronal firing patterns. This innovative approach has the potential to restore neuronal control in patients with cognitive and motor impairments.
Image source: Cadent official website
Cadent’s lead development candidate, CAD-1883, is a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels, primarily being investigated for the treatment of essential tremor (ET) and spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA). SK channels regulate potassium influx into cells. In clinical studies, CAD-1883 has demonstrated the ability to modulate neuronal firing, improve motor control, and reduce tremor. CAD-1883 is currently undergoing Phase 1 dose-escalation trials and has shown good tolerability across all tested doses to date.
Essential tremor is a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrollable shaking or trembling in various parts of the body, including the head, hands, neck, and chin. It is one of the most common movement disorders, affecting approximately 10 million people in the United States alone. Unfortunately, there has been no significant improvement in the standard of care for this condition over the past 40 years.
Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a hereditary, degenerative neurological disorder that affects approximately 6,000 individuals in the United States. Patients with this condition can be readily identified through genetic testing. SCA is a progressive disease that causes ongoing damage to the cerebellum, the primary brain region responsible for regulating motor control and balance.
Cadent is also developing another candidate drug in the preclinical stage, which aims to address NMDAr (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) hypofunction in patients with schizophrenia.
In addition to these two projects, Cadent has also entered into an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Novartis to jointly develop a negative allosteric modulator for the treatment of patients with depression, which is currently in Phase I clinical trials.
Dr. Bob (Ibrahim) Dagher, Cadent’s newly appointed Chief Medical Officer, brings nearly 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical executive leadership and drug development. Most recently, he served as Senior Medical Director for Neuroscience Clinical Development Services at Covance. Previously, he held positions at Sanofi-Genzyme and GlaxoSmithKline, where he oversaw the implementation of clinical development programs in neuroscience and rare disease therapeutics.
Michael Curtis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cadent, stated, “In a short period of time, Cadent has achieved several important milestones. This round of financing will enable us to continue improving the lives of patients with neurological disorders. We are pleased that two programs led by us for the treatment of progressive neurological diseases have entered clinical development, and we are particularly encouraged by the potential of the second project targeting the treatment of schizophrenia.”
About Cadent Therapeutics
Cadent, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Massachusetts, is a clinical-stage neuroscience company dedicated to developing breakthrough therapies for patients with cognitive and motor disorders. Cadent is rapidly advancing its pipeline of positive allosteric modulators for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia, essential tremor, and schizophrenia.