Draig Therapeutics closes £48.6m series B led by Deep Track Capital with Janus Henderson
This article covers Draig Therapeutics, a biotech startup that has closed a £48.6m series B funding round to accelerate clinical development of its pipeline of AMPA and GABAA receptor modulators, including lead candidate DT-101 for major depressive disorder. The funding is intended to advance ongoing Phase 2 studies and support development of treatments targeting patients with major depressive disorder.
Draig Therapeutics, a biotech startup, has closed a £48.6m series B funding round to accelerate clinical development of its pipeline of highly specific AMPA and GABAA receptor modulators, including lead candidate DT-101 for major depressive disorder. The cash injection is intended to push ongoing Phase 2 studies and speed up the company’s clinical programme at a time when novel neuropsychiatric approaches are drawing renewed investor and scientific interest.
Why it matters
Major depressive disorder remains a large unmet medical need, with many patients failing to respond to currently approved treatments. Drugs that precisely modulate excitatory and inhibitory receptors in the brain—such as AMPA and GABAA receptors—could offer faster onset or improved tolerability compared with existing options. Progress in this area would be clinically significant and could reshape investment patterns in early neuropsychiatry therapeutics.
Inside the product
Draig’s lead candidate, DT-101, is an AMPA receptor potentiator, technically a positive allosteric modulator (PAM). The company says DT-101 has demonstrated safety, tolerability and target engagement in early studies and exhibits a pulsatile pharmacokinetic profile, which the team argues may help achieve effective neuromodulation without sustained overstimulation. Phase 2 trials are under way: a global monotherapy study and a US study testing DT-101 as an adjunct treatment in patients with major depressive disorder.
Beyond DT-101, Draig’s pipeline reportedly includes selective modulators of AMPA and GABAA receptor subtypes intended to enable more precise adjustment of the major neurocircuits implicated in mood and other psychiatric disorders. The science aims to balance efficacy with a tolerability profile suitable for chronic conditions.
Who are the investors?
The £48.6m round was led by Deep Track Capital and was described as oversubscribed. Other participants named by the company include Janus Henderson Investors, Marshall Wace, the British Business Bank and Jefferson Life Sciences. Earlier backers and healthcare partners listed by Draig include corporate and venture healthcare investors that supported prior rounds; the company was also co-founded with involvement from Cardiff University.
The investor mix combines specialist life sciences and wider institutional capital, alongside public-backed finance, reflecting both clinical and market confidence in the programme and the team’s ability to run mid-stage trials.
In the announcement, Rebecca Luse, Managing Director at Deep Track Capital, said:
Draig’s laser-focused execution is a testament to the strength of not only its science, but also its team. In less than two years, the Company has built an international organisation of dedicated individuals, initiated two Phase 2 trials in MDD and advanced its broader pipeline towards the clinic. We are excited to partner with Draig as they continue to advance their best-in-class neuromodulators of validated molecular targets with potential to address significant unmet medical needs.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of biotech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of biotech angel investors in the UK
Founder perspective
In the announcement, Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, PhD, JD, President and CEO of Draig Therapeutics, said:
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. 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 and displays a pulsatile pharmacokinetic profile 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.
The company also highlights rapid operational progress: building an international team, initiating two Phase 2 trials within a relatively short timescale and advancing additional programmes toward the clinic.
The bigger picture
The funding round is another sign of continued appetite among biotech investors for therapeutics addressing central nervous system disorders, an area that has seen variable investor sentiment in recent years due to scientific and regulatory challenges. Public and private capital flowing into mid-stage neuropsychiatry projects could help bridge the gap between early science and registrational trials, provided clinical readouts demonstrate clear patient benefit.
Draig’s UK ties—headquartered in Cardiff for part of its operations while also operating from Massachusetts—illustrate the cross-border nature of drug development today, and the role UK research institutions and investors play in translating early academic discoveries into clinical-stage ventures.
They've invested in Draig Therapeutics
Get to know these biotech investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Deep Track Capital( ) | Series BGrowth | |||
 British Business Bank( ) The British Business Bank focuses on enhancing finance accessibility for smaller... Sheffield  | ||||
 SV Health Investors( ) SV Health Investors is a global private equity and venture capital investment pl... London | ||||
 Canaan Partners( ) Canaan is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on healthcare and tec... Menlo Park, US  | Series BGrowth | |||
 SR One( ) | Series BGrowth | |||
 Sanofi Ventures( ) Sanofi is a multinational healthcare company specialising in pharmaceuticals, va... Paris, France  | Series BGrowth | |||
 Schroders Capital( ) Schroders Capital focuses on private equity, private debt, alternative credit, i... London | ||||
| All investors | All investor sectors | All funded startups | All funding rounds |
Click here for a full list of 7,589+ startup investors in the UK