Cadent Therapeutics Secures $40 Million Series B Financing to Advance Pipeline

Cadent Therapeutics recently announced it has raised $40 million in a Series B financing. In addition, the company has appointed Bob (Ibrahim) Dagher, MD, as Chief Medical Officer.

“In a short amount of time, Cadent has achieved several important milestones, and with this financing we are well positioned to continue to execute on our mission of improving the lives of people with neurological disorders,” said Michael Curtis, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cadent Therapeutics. “We are excited to have advanced our lead program into clinical development for two progressive neurological conditions, and we are encouraged by the potential of our second program, which is in preclinical development for the treatment of schizophrenia. This progress plus the confidence from our investors is exciting, and we look forward to continuing this momentum into 2019.”

Cognitive and movement disorders affect millions of people, impacting their ability to think, speak, comprehend, and move. Ion channels play a central role in the communication between neurons and in regulating the generation of neural signals. Cadent Therapeutics is developing novel allosteric modulators of ion channels to improve neuronal firing regularity. This first-of-its-kind approach has the potential to restore neuronal control and benefit patients with movement and cognitive disorders.

“We are thrilled to welcome Bob to the team, as he brings a blend of clinical and drug development skills that are critical to the continued success of Cadent,” said Dr. Curtis.

Dr. Bob Dagher brings to Cadent nearly 20 years of experience as a pharmaceutical executive and drug development physician with a breadth of knowledge and passion for developing novel treatments for neuroscience indications. Most recently, he served as Senior Medical Director for clinical development services in neuroscience at Covance. Prior to that, he served as Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs at Dyax. Previously, he served in roles of increasing responsibility at Sanofi-Genzyme and GlaxoSmithKline. Throughout his previous tenures, Dr. Dagher oversaw the execution of a number of clinical development programs in several therapeutic areas in neuroscience and rare diseases. He earned his medical degree through the combined program of Bordeaux and St. Joseph Universities and completed his residency in psychiatry at Boston University and obtained board certification of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

“I’m excited to join Cadent at this time of important growth and evolution for the company,” said Dr. Dagher. “Cadent’s innovative approach to developing treatments for CNS diseases is extremely compelling and has led to the rapid advancement of several promising medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. I look forward to contributing to Cadent’s experienced team, advisors and investors in pursuing the company’s vision of bringing new medicines to the millions of patients who need new and better treatment options.”