Leal Therapeutics has completed a $30m extension of its Series A financing to support advancement of its investigational therapies for schizophrenia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) through clinical trials.
The latest funding round includes new participant Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), along with existing investors Alexandria Venture Investments, Chugai Venture Fund, Euclidean Capital, Newpath Partners, OrbiMed, PhiFund, and SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund.
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Proceeds from this investment will enable Leal Therapeutics to move forward with an initial data readout from its Phase Ib/IIa study of LTX-001 in adults with schizophrenia.
The study is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of LTX-001.
The therapy is described as a brain-penetrant oral glutaminase 1 (GLS1) inhibitor and has already completed early Phase I studies that examined single and multiple ascending doses.
These trials indicated a favourable safety and tolerability profile and showed dose dependent engagement of the intended central nervous system (CNS) target.
Initial data from the now-initiated Phase Ib/IIa trial is expected by the end of the year.
The new funding will also be applied to LTX-002, an antisense oligonucleotide delivered intrathecally and developed to restore healthy sphingolipid levels in the CNS by targeting serine palmitoyltransferase long chain base subunit 1 (SPTLC1).
LTX-002 is being studied in the NeurALS Phase I/II clinical trial for adults with ALS and will advance into additional dosing cohorts with support from the Series A extension.
Leal Therapeutics founder and CEO Asa Abeliovich said: “We are very excited to partner with our top-tier syndicate of investors, which now includes Lilly.
“This funding will support us through key clinical milestones for LTX-001 in schizophrenia, including initial data from the now ongoing Phase Ib/IIa trial, and LTX-002 in ALS while also advancing our preclinical pipeline towards clinical development.”
The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company is focused on developing neuro-metabolic therapies for serious CNS disorders.
