Syremis raises $165 million Series A to take on schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses
Teva veterans launch a new drugmaker targeting long-neglected psychiatric conditions.
Syremis Therapeutics, a newly launched clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on severe mental illness, has raised $165 million in Series A financing to advance a pipeline aimed at some of the most persistent gaps in psychiatric treatment.
The company was founded by a leadership team with deep experience in neuroscience and drug development, including veterans of Teva Pharmaceuticals. Syremis is led by Elisabeth Kogan, its co-founder and CEO, alongside co-founders Elena Kagan, chief development officer, and Menashe Levy, CTO. The team brings experience across discovery, clinical development, and large-scale pharmaceutical operations.
The financing was co-led by Dexcel Pharma and Third Rock Ventures, with participation from Bain Capital Life Sciences, GV (Google Ventures), QVT, and Pictet. The capital is intended to support the advancement of Syremis’ programs through clinical proof of concept, a pivotal and often difficult milestone in neuropsychiatric drug development.
Syremis enters the market at a time when schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders remain among the most debilitating and underserved conditions in medicine. More than 20 million people worldwide are affected, facing high relapse rates, substantial disability, and reduced life expectancy. Despite decades of research, existing treatments frequently fall short, particularly in balancing efficacy with tolerability.
The company’s lead program, ST-905, is a dual M1/M4 muscarinic agonist currently in Phase 1 development for schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric conditions. The compound’s pharmaceutical profile, according to the company, may support once-daily oral dosing as well as a long-acting injectable formulation, features that could address adherence challenges common in psychiatric care.
Interest in muscarinic-based therapies has grown as researchers seek alternatives to dopamine-focused treatments, which have dominated schizophrenia care for decades but are often associated with significant side effects.
Syremis is also advancing ST-901, a novel NMDA antagonist in IND-enabling studies, with plans to develop it for major depressive disorder and bipolar depression. Both conditions remain areas of high unmet need, with many patients failing to respond adequately to existing therapies.
Both ST-905 and ST-901 were originally discovered and developed at Clexio Biosciences, at which all three founders worked, before being spun out into Syremis Therapeutics.
The company’s board includes senior figures from its investor base as well as Steve Paul, a Syremis co-founder and former CEO and chair of Karuna Therapeutics, and a former senior executive at Eli Lilly.
