Neurona raises $102M to advance cell therapy for epilepsy into phase 3

Neurona Therapeutics announced the successful completion of an upsized and oversubscribed $102 million private financing round, the proceeds from which will be used to advance the company’s pipeline of allogeneic cell therapy candidates for chronic neurological disorders.

Neurona will begin recruiting patients for a phase 3 trial for its lead investigational candidate, NRTX-1001, in drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) in the second half of 2025.

NRTX-100, comprising GABAergic interneurons, is currently being studied for safety and efficacy in two ongoing open label multicenter phase 1/2 trials: one for drug-resistant unilateral MTLE and one for drug-resistant bilateral MTLE, with neocortical focal epilepsy and other indications planned in the future.

At the American Epilepsy Society’s Annual Meeting this past December, Neurona presented updated data from the ongoing unilateral MTLE trial. The low-dose cohort demonstrated a 92% median reduction in disabling seizures from baseline, with 80% of subjects reporting >80% seizure reduction, during the period of 7-12 months after administration. The high-dose cohort demonstrated a 78% median reduction in disabling seizures from baseline in the interim 4-6 month period after administration.

New and existing investors in San Fran-based Neurona’s financing round include Fidelity Management & Research Company, The Column Group, Soleus Capital, Viking Global Investors, Cormorant Asset Management, Schroders Capital, LYFE Capital, Euclidean Capital, UCB Ventures, Willett Advisors, UC Investments, YK Bioventures, Berkeley Frontier Fund, Ysios Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Spur Capital Partners.