Sarah Braner

Reunion Neuroscience raises $103 million

C&EN Global Enterprise May 20, 2024 Sarah Braner

Reunion Neuroscience, a mental-health start-up, raised $103 million in series A funding co-led by MPM BioImpact and Novo Holdings. Its lead compound, RE104, is a novel psychedelic prodrug of 4-OH-DiPT that targets the serotonin 2A receptor similarly to psilocybin and is thought to enhance neuroplasticity and neural pathway formation, though its exact mechanism remains unknown. RE104 is being developed to treat adjustment disorder in cancer patients and postpartum depression. According to the company's CEO, RE104's key advantage over psilocybin is its shorter duration: a therapy session with RE104 is expected to take about half the 6–8 hours required for psilocybin.