Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Completes $5.4 Million Series A Round to Support Drug Discovery Programs

PROVIDENCE, RI--(Marketwire - February 16, 2012) - Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule drugs to treat neuropsychiatric disorders, has secured $5.4 million in a Series A financing. The round was led by Access BridgeGap Ventures and also included existing investor Slater Technology Fund. Proceeds from the financing will support the company’s drug discovery programs, and the identification of lead product candidates for treatment of schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Mnemosyne was founded in 2010 and previously raised seed funding from Slater Technology Fund and private investors. The company’s founding scientists have extensive experience in N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptor pharmacology and drug discovery for neuropsychiatric disorders. Mnemosyne is developing a new class of molecules, Subunit Selective NMDA Receptor Modulators (SNRMs) for the neuropsychiatry market.

“Mnemosyne is targeting some of the most significant unmet needs in neuropsychiatric disease,” stated Daniel Behr, founder and senior vice president, Access BridgeGap Ventures. “We have great confidence in the research strategy being pursued and believe the founders, directors and advisors recruited to the task are ideally-suited to achieving the company’s ambitious goals.”

“Completing the Series A financing will enable us to ramp up the pace of our discovery programs considerably,” stated Kollol Pal, Ph.D., president and CEO. “We look forward to working with Access, whose endorsement of our approach is encouraging and whose commitment to realizing breakthroughs in clinical medicine aligns well with our strategic vision for the company.”

The NMDA receptor is widely recognized as the master switch for learning and memory, and a large body of preclinical and clinical research supports targeting this receptor to treat a broad range of neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive dysfunction. Learning and memory disorders represent a major unmet medical need in neuropsychiatry. Together, these disorders encompass a significant portion of the broader $80B mental health market. There is strong evidence indicating that a principal underlying cause of schizophrenia is defective NMDA receptor function. Mnemosyne believes that by potentiating a specific NMDA subunit, the company’s SNRM product candidates will provide therapeutic benefit for cognition, and also impact the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

About Mnemosyne
Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately-held, biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics for the neuropsychiatry market. The company’s drug discovery efforts are focused on targeting the NMDA receptor, which is known to be the “master” switch for learning and memory. Mnemosyne’s lead program is for schizophrenia, and the company is exploring additional indications including Alzheimer’s disease, recovery from stroke and traumatic brain injury, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The company is based in Providence, Rhode Island. For more information, visit www.mnemosynepharma.com.

About Access BridgeGap Ventures
Access BridgeGap Ventures is an early-stage venture investment arm of Access Industries focused on the therapeutics space. Access BridgeGap funds startups and creates de-novo spinoffs around potential high-impact technologies many of which are still in academic research labs. www.accessindustries.com/h_access-bridgegap.html

About Slater Technology Fund
The Slater Technology Fund is a state-backed venture capital fund that invests in new ventures committed to basing and building their businesses in Rhode Island. Slater focuses its resources on the support of entrepreneurs who have the vision, leadership and commitment to build substantial commercial enterprises. For more information, visit www.slaterfund.com.