MapLight laid out the terms of its planned IPO in a regulatory filing on Monday, providing greater detail about what the funds will be used for.
After launching a bid for the Nasdaq last month, MapLight Therapeutics has now laid out the numbers. The neuropsychiatric biotech is aiming to raise $227.3 million.
MapLight’s initial public offering will sell 14.7 million shares at $17 apiece, according to an SEC filing dated October 6. The IPO could rise to $262.3 million if the underwriters exercise all their options.
The company also provided a more in-depth breakdown of how the proceeds will be used. About $100-$120 million of the funds raised will go toward clinical development of ML-007C-MA, an oral combo muscarinic agonist plus an anticholinergic being tested in schizophrenia through the ongoing Phase II ZEPHYR trial.
Another $50-$70 million from the IPO will fund ML-007C-MA in Alzheimer’s disease psychosis through the Phase II VISTA study; $15-$25 million will be used for ML-004 in autism spectrum disorder through the Phase II IRIS study; and $30-$40 million will support other research activities including preclinical trials for ML-009 for hyperactivity/impulsivity disorder and ML-021 for Parkinson’s disease. Any leftover funds will go toward working capital and general corporate purposes.
MapLight also noted that some of the proceeds could be used to license, acquire or invest in “complementary technologies, assets, or intellectual property.”
On top of the IPO, Maplight also said in its filing that it intends to sell 476,707 shares of common stock to Goldman Sachs at the public offering price, amounting to Goldman taking an approximately 3% stake in Maplight.
Original article published September 22, 2025.
MapLight Keeps Biopharma’s IPO Flame Alight To Advance Alzheimer’s, Schizophrenia Drugs
The biopharma industry is counting its second initial public offering this month, with California-based MapLight Therapeutics announcing a Nasdaq bid with the goal of drumming up support for its pipeline of neuropsychiatric therapies.
MapLight’s initial SEC filing on Friday was sparse on details, though the prospectus does indicate that the company expects to complete the IPO this year.
The funds raised will help MapLight “advance the clinical development of our current programs,” the most mature of which is ML-007C-MA, an investigational agonist of the M1/M4 muscarinic receptors. The asset is being tested for Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and schizophrenia, for which respective programs are in Phase II.
With ML-007C-MA, MapLight is entering a fraught space. Leading the pack of muscarinic receptor agonists is Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, which in September last year became the first novel drug for schizophrenia in more than three decades. A Phase III readout in April 2025, however, showed that Cobenfy failed to significantly improve symptom severity when used with atypical antipsychotics. Also with an embattled muscarinic receptor agonist is AbbVie, whose emraclidine stumbled in a pair of mid-stage studies last November.
MapLight’s asset, meanwhile, combines muscarinic agonism with its action as a peripheral anticholinergic. MapLight’s Phase I program for the asset, spanning 270 healthy participants given more than 1,500 doses, suggests favorable tolerability and a pharmacodynamic profile “expected to result in improvement across key symptom domains,” according to the prospectus. A topline readout in schizophrenia is expected in the back half of 2026 while data for Alzheimer’s disease psychosis is set for the second half of 2027.
MapLight is also working on ML-004, which is in Phase II development for autism spectrum disorder, as well as the preclinical assets ML-021 for Parkinson’s disease and ML-009 for hyperactivity/impulsivity disorder.
IPO proceeds will also fund MapLight’s working capital and other general corporate expenses. Once the IPO is complete, MapLight will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker MPLT.
With the IPO announcement, MapLight follows in the footsteps of fellow neuro-focused LB Pharma, which earlier this month ended biopharma’s months-long IPO drought. The biotech initially aimed for a $263.4 million raise, including underwriter option payments, but ended up bringing home $285 million. LB Pharma landed on Nasdaq on Sept. 11 under the tracker LBRX.
2025 has been slow for IPOs, with companies instead opting for licensing deals, mergers or private placements. The most notable IPO this year is for rising obesity star Metsera, which raised $316 million in February and has enjoyed a 25% surge in share price since. Maze Therapeutics, which raised $140 million in January, has also jumped 43% since going public.
