Welsh biotech Draig emerges with $140m in financing
Profs John Atack and Simon Ward, from Cardiff University’s Medicines Discovery Institute, whose research underpins Draig's pipeline.
Cardiff University spin-out Draig Therapeutics emerged from the shadows this morning with £107 million ($140 million) in funding to develop new therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders.
The financing has been billed as the most significant commercial investment into Welsh research to date, and will help Draig – which is the Welsh word for dragon – build on research conducted in the labs of Profs John Atack and Simon Ward of Cardiff's Medicines Discovery Institute.
Its R&D will focus on the development of medicines that interact with two neurotransmitter systems in the brain – glutamate and GABA – with a lead programme targeted at major depressive disorder (MDD).
Draig has launched with one clinical-stage candidate called DT-101, described as a next-generation small molecule positive allosteric modulator (PAM) of the AMPA receptor, which is activated by glutamate.
According to the company, DT-101 has been designed with a much wider therapeutic window compared to previous generation AMPA receptor modulators, which could reduce side effects and preserve its efficacy. Phase 2 trials are due to start before the end of the year.
Other drugs in the class have run into toxicity issues, including convulsions or neurotoxicity, which have scuppered development programmes such as Eli Lilly's mibampator and Servier/RespireRx' tulrampator.
One candidate that has stayed the course so far is Neurocrine Biosciences' osavampator, which is in phase 3 testing as an add-on therapy for patients with MDD who do not respond to standard antidepressants.
Along with MDD, AMPA-targeting drugs have also been proposed as potential treatments for other diseases, including Alzheimer's and cognitive impairment due to schizophrenia.
Following after in Draig's pipeline are two other programmes – GABAA receptor modulators DT-201 and DT-301 – for undisclosed neuropsychiatry indications. They are due to start human testing in 2026.
The initial investment in Draig was led by Access Biotechnology, alongside SV Health Investors and ICG, and also included Canaan Partners, SR One, Sanofi Ventures and Schroders Capital as backers.
Atack will serve as chief translational officer at Draig, while Ward takes the role of chief scientific officer. The management team also includes Ruth McKernan, operating partner at SV Health Investors, who has been named executive chair, along with senior executives from other biopharma groups.
The role of chief medical officer is held by Inder Kaul, formerly of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Karuna Therapeutics, while David Watson (ex-Biogen) is chief operating officer and Florian Islinger (ex-Roche) will lead commercial strategy at the startup.
