$65 million to advance new treatments for mental health conditions
3 August 2026
£48 million ($65 million) in funding will help a Cardiff University spin-out accelerate the development of a potential new treatment for major depressive disorder.
Draig Therapeutics has announced the successful completion of a £48 million Series B funding round. The investment was led by Deep Track Capital and included participation from Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, British Business Bank and Jefferson Life Sciences.
The funding will support the further development of Draig Therapeutics’ pipeline of medicines designed to address conditions such as depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders. In particular, it will help advance DT-101, the company’s lead drug candidate for major depressive disorder.
Dr Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, President and Chief Executive Officer of Draig Therapeutics, said: “Major depressive disorder remains one of the largest unmet needs in medicine. Our next-generation AMPA receptor modulator, DT-101, has shown encouraging safety, tolerability and target engagement data, which gives us real conviction in its potential.”
This new financing will enable us to accelerate the development of our pipeline and bring us closer to our ultimate goal - to restore the brain to a healthier state and enable patients to live their best lives.
Draig is developing medicines that target specific communication pathways in the brain involved in mood, behaviour and cognition. By acting on these pathways with greater precision, the company aims to create treatments that are both effective and well tolerated.
The company's lead programme, DT-101, is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials involving people with major depressive disorder. Ongoing studies include an international trial testing DT-101 as a standalone treatment and a separate U.S. study assessing its use alongside existing antidepressant therapies.
Rebecca Luse, Managing Director at Deep Track Capital, said: "In less than two years, Draig has built a strong international organisation, launched two Phase 2 studies in depression and continued to advance its broader research programme. We are excited to support the team as they work to bring innovative new treatment options to patients with significant unmet medical needs."
The company’s recent funding round was oversubscribed – with investor demand exceeding the amount the company originally sought to raise.
This oversubscribed financing from an exceptional group of new investors marks an exciting milestone for Draig as we continue to advance our transformative, best-in-class pipeline.
Draig Therapeutics officially launched on June 18, 2025, with a $140 Million (£107 Million) investment led by Access Biotechnology, alongside SV Health Investors and ICG, and including Canaan Partners, SR One, Sanofi Ventures and Schroders Capital.
It was founded on the research and expertise of Professor John Atack and Professor Simon Ward from Cardiff University’s Medicine Discovery Institute and formed in 2024 in partnership with SV Health Investors. It is based within Cardiff Innovations at sbarc|spark.
