Reunion Neuroscience raises $103 million

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.

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Abstract

Reunion Neuroscience , a start-up focused on mental health, has raised a $103 million series A round, co-led by MPM BioImpact and the Novo Nordisk Foundation's investment arm Novo Holdings. The company's lead asset, RE104, is a novel psychedelic that is being developed to treat adjustment disorder in cancer patients as well as postpartum depression. RE104 is a prodrug of 4-OH-DiPT, which acts on the serotonin 2A receptor in a manner similar to that of psilocybin. It is thought to improve neuroplasticity and the formation of new neural pathways. But its exact mechanism of action, like that of psilocybin, is unknown. According to Greg Mayes, Reunion's president and CEO, RE104 has a critical advantage over psilocybin: brevity. One session of psilocybin therapy takes about 6–8 hours of administration and monitoring, but one session of RE104 therapy should take half that time. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved only