HMNC, Cartesian, Waiv, Brainstorm Announce New Biotech Financings
Biotech companies announced new financings: HMNC closed a $50M Series B, Cartesian secured a $150M credit facility, Waiv raised $33M, and Brainstorm raised $1M. KET01 showed early efficacy but missed its primary endpoint.
In a series of biotech financing announcements, HMNC Brain Health closed the first $50 million tranche of its Series B round, Cartesian Therapeutics secured a credit facility of up to $150 million, Owkin's precision oncology spinout Waiv raised $33 million, and Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics entered into a $1 million private placement agreement.
HMNC Brain Health has completed the first closing of its $50 million Series B round, led by German healthcare company MEDICE, which also secured European commercialisation rights for HMNC’s ketamine candidate KET01 (Ketabon). The proceeds will support Phase III preparation for KET01 and further development of the company’s second lead programme, Nelivabon. KET01, an oral prolonged-release ketamine formulation for treatment-resistant depression, showed in a Phase II study involving 117 patients significant improvements in depressive symptoms within days and substantially fewer dissociative effects than established ketamine or esketamine treatments, but the study failed to achieve statistical significance on its primary endpoint after 21 days compared with placebo. As recently as 2025, HMNC’s communications suggested a Phase III trial was on the horizon; by mid-2026, the company is still describing its activities as 'Phase III readiness.' Nelivabon, a vasopressin V1b receptor antagonist for genetically defined subgroups of patients with depression, is being prepared for late-stage development following positive Phase IIb data. HMNC first set out nearly a decade ago to use biomarkers and genetic testing to identify which patients would respond to which therapies.
US clinical-stage biotech Cartesian Therapeutics (Nasdaq: RNAC) announced an agreement with K2 HealthVentures to provide a credit facility of up to $150 million including an initial $50 million tranche.
Owkin, a multinational artificial intelligence-focused drug discovery and development firm, has spun out a new standalone precision oncology testing company called Waiv, which raised $33 million in an initial financing round.
Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics announced a strategic private placement agreement worth $1 million that will support an upcoming Phase IIIb trial of its stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).