The New Jersey-based biopharma will use the funds to support a Phase II study of its serotonergic psychedelic drug candidate in postpartum depression.
Psychedelic drug developer Reunion Neuroscience announced Thursday it has raised $103 million in Series A financing to advance its lead candidate for postpartum depression further into the clinic.
The funding round was co-led by Novo Holdings and MPM BioImpact, with participation from Arkin Bio Capital, Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, FemHealth Ventures, Plaisance Capital and Palo Santo. In June 2023, MPM BioImpact acquired Reunion in a $13.1 million deal and took the company private.
Reunion plans to use the Series A funding to support a Phase II trial for its lead candidate RE104 in patients with postpartum depression. The company said patient enrollment will start this quarter, and results are expected in the second quarter of 2025.
RE104 is a potential best-in-class prodrug of 4-OH-DiPT, a synthetic and shorter-lasting psilocybin derivative. Reunion’s candidate goes after the serotonin 2A receptor, a target for the antidepressant effects of psychedelic compounds. According to Reunion, RE104 treatment only needs half a day in the clinic to be administered, under the supervision of a healthcare professional, which is a shorter time than other psychedelic treatments such as MDMA or psilocybin.
Reunion released a Phase I analysis last year, noting that the drug was well tolerated and had “robust” pharmacodynamic effects, with the experience being around three to four hours in length. Reunion pointed out that psilocybin treatment usually takes between six to eight hours.
“This financing is a significant milestone for Reunion Neuroscience, and we are grateful to have the backing of MPM BioImpact and Novo Holdings, as well as a syndicate composed of top-tier institutional healthcare investors,” Reunion CEO Greg Mayes said in a statement. “Their collective support reflects Reunion’s potential to meaningfully transform mental health treatment for the large population of patients underserved by the treatment paradigm available under the current standard of care.”
In addition to postpartum depression, Reunion is also investigating RE104’s use in other neuropsychiatric indications such as adjustment disorder in cancer (ADC), a maladaptive response to a cancer diagnosis. According to Reunion, there is an unmet need in ADC that is not being addressed by the current standard of care.
“We see a significant opportunity for RE104 to become a best-in-class therapy and are deeply encouraged by its potential to improve outcomes for patients facing limited treatment alternatives in postpartum depression and other mental health disorders,” Natalie Sacks, venture partner in the venture investments group at Novo Holdings U.S., said in a statement.
The psychedelic market has been steadily gaining investment attention over the past few years following the approval of Janssen’s antidepressant nasal spray Spravato in 2019. Spravato delivers the compound esketamine, which is chemically related to ketamine. Mordor Intelligence noted in a report that there has been a 10-fold increase in psychedelic investment between 2019 and 2020.
Activity in the psychedelic space has continued in 2024. The MAPS Public Benefit Corporation rebranded as Lykos Therapeutics after raising $100 million in a Series A round and has already submitted an NDA for its MDMA-assisted therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.
