Express Advance the development of treatments for refractory depression, and Cutting-edge completed a $60 million Series A financing

Lusaris Therapeutics announced the completion of a $60 million Series A funding round to advance the development of
therapies for severe neuropsychiatric disorders and neurological disorders.

When people with major depressive disorder do not respond to two or more treatments, they may progress to treatment-resistant depression (TRD), and these patients have a great need
for new treatments.
Serotonergic neurolastogens has been shown to induce beneficial neuroplasticity at the structural and functional levels, leading to rapid and significant improvement
in TRD patients.
Available clinical data suggest that 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) is expected to provide good efficacy
in patients with TRD.

Since 5-MeO-DMT is rapidly metabolized by enzymes in the intestine and liver by oral administration, it does not produce sufficient efficacy
.
LSR-1019 is a Lusaris proprietary 5-MeO-DMT sublingual tablet that dissolves sublingually in seconds and is absorbed
without water.
This approach is scalable to reduce the need for a heavy drug delivery system, simplify dosing, and promise more stable drug exposure and predictable efficacy
for patients.
Lusaris plans to develop LSR-1019 for the treatment of TRD and other serious neuropsychiatric disorders
.
According to publicly available information, the Phase 1 clinical study of LSR-1019 is about to start, and top-line data
is expected to be available in mid-2023.
In addition to LSR-1019, Lusaris' pipeline includes the development of neurological remodeling factor (neu roplastogen) that can treat a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders as well as neuropathies.

Image source: 123RF

Dr.
Andrew Levin, interim CEO of Lusaris and partner and managing director of RA Capital, said in a press release: "Major depressive disorder is a severe, undertreated, debilitating condition that causes millions of patients to develop TRD
.
For patients with TRD and other serious neuropsychiatric disorders, psychoplastogens has emerged as a promising treatment supported by compelling scientific evidence
.
We believe that our proprietary sublingual formulation of 5-MeO-DMT LSR-1019 promises important therapeutic advances
for patients with major depression who lack effective treatment options.
”