Novo Holdings has joined the early-stage consortium of Praxis Precision, a gene therapy business co-founded by faculty from Columbia and Melbourne universities.

Praxis Precision, a US-based gene therapy developer targeting neurological and psychiatric disorders, emerged from stealth on Monday with more than $100m raised to date from investors co-led by pharmaceutical firm Novo Holdings. The consortium is also co-led by Praxis’s founding investor Blackstone Life Sciences, which participated through its Clarus subsidiary, as well as venture capital firms including Eventide and Vida Ventures. Founded in 2016, Praxis Precision is developing precision drugs that interact with underlying genetic mechanisms linked to several brain disorders, including psychiatric and central nervous system (CNS) illnesses. The company’s lead program, PRAX-114, targets the GABAA positive allosteric receptor to treat major depressive disorder, and is currently undergoing phase 2 clinical development. Praxis’s pipeline also includes another phase 2 asset, PRAX-944, for essential tremor, a CNS disorder that causes involuntary shaking in any part of the body. The company aims to have proof-of-concept data for PRAX-944 within the next year and is also progressing a pre-clinical pipeline for indications including rare forms of epilepsy. Praxis’s founding team includes David Goldstein, a professor in Columbia University’s Department of Genetics and Development, and Steven Petrou, head of the Department of the Florey Institute at University of Melbourne. Marcio Souza, president and CEO of Praxis said: “Neurology and psychiatry are finally primed for a revolution in how new therapies are discovered and developed, and Praxis’ approach has the potential to change the treatment landscape. “The combination of the expertise of our team in CNS drug development, insights into CNS biology, and our approach to drug discovery, positions us as at the forefront of the development of novel CNS therapies.” – This article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

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