Cadent Takes in $40 Million to Advance Its Pipeline, Taps a New CMO

Cambridge, Mass.-based Cadent Therapeutics secured $40 million in a Series B financing round to advance its lead program, CAD-1883, an SK positive allosteric modulator, being investigated for the treatment of two movement disorders, essential tremor and spinocerebellar ataxia.

Michael Curtis, president and chief executive officer of Cadent, said the financing has placed the company in a strong position to continue to drive forward with its research into neurological orders.

“We are excited to have advanced our lead program into clinical development for two progressive neurological conditions, and we are encouraged by the potential of our second program, which is in preclinical development for the treatment of schizophrenia. This progress plus the confidence from our investors is exciting, and we look forward to continuing this momentum into 2019,” Curtis said in a statement.

In preclinical disease models, Cadent’s CAD-1883 has demonstrated the ability to regulate neuronal firing, improve motor control and reduce tremor. The SK channels that CAD-1883 targets are ion channels which regulate the amount of potassium that enters a cell. The medication is currently in Phase I dosing trials.

Essential tremor, one of the movement disorders CAD-1883 targets, characterized by uncontrollable shaking or tremor in different parts of the body, including the head, arms, hands, neck and chin. It is among the most common movement disorders, affecting about 10 million people in the United States. Cadent said there have been no new advancements in treating this disorder in the past 40 years.

Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) impacts about 6,000 people in the U.S. It is identified through genetic testing for gene abnormalities called “poly-Q expansions,” which are similar to those found in patients with Huntington’s disease.SCA is progressive and results in ongoing damage to the cerebellum, the region of the brain that regulates motor control and balance.

Cadent’s other drug candidate is in preclinical studies. It is being developed to address NMDAr (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) hypofunction in people with schizophrenia. In people with schizophrenia, NMDAr dysfunction is a significant contributor to their cognitive impairment.

The $40 million financing round was led by Cowen Healthcare Investments and Atlas Venture, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners, Access Industries, Clal Biotechnology Industries and Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research.

The $40 million wasn’t the only positive news that Cadent announced today. Additionally, the company tapped industry veteran Bob (Ibrahim) Dagher as chief medical officer. Prior to Cadent, Dagher served as senior medical director for clinical development services in neuroscience at Covance. Before that, he was head of medical affairs at Dyax and has also held roles of increasing responsibility at Sanofi-Genzyme and GlaxoSmithKline.

“Cadent’s innovative approach to developing treatments for CNS diseases is extremely compelling and has led to the rapid advancement of several promising medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. I look forward to contributing to Cadent’s experienced team, advisors and investors in pursuing the company’s vision of bringing new medicines to the millions of patients who need new and better treatment options,” Dagher said in a statement.

Also, Cadent entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with Novartis to develop a medicine that modulates NMDA receptors for the treatment of people with treatment-resistant depression.