Alto Neuroscience has successfully raised $45 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing round led by InVivium Capital. The round saw participation from new investors Franklin Templeton, Point72, Eli Lilly and Company, and Alexandria Venture Investments, along with existing investors such as Alpha Wave Ventures, Lightswitch Capital, Alkeon Capital partners, WhatIf Ventures, and Windham Venture Partners.
The funds will primarily support the ongoing and planned clinical development of the company’s late-stage CNS (central nervous system) product candidates, with four placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial readouts anticipated by early 2025.
The Series C financing has also led to changes in the composition of Alto’s board of directors, with Michael Liang, Ph.D., managing director of InVivium Capital, joining the board. Eli Lilly and Company will have a board observer as part of their participation in the financing.
Amit Etkin, M.D., Ph.D., founder and CEO of Alto Neuroscience, expressed gratitude for the support from investors who understand the potential of the company’s precision psychiatry approach. This approach aims to address the significant burden of disease in the treatment of mental health conditions.
The funding will enable Alto to reach key value-generating milestones and extend its operational runway.
Alto expects to announce topline data readouts from ongoing Phase 2b clinical trials of its advanced programs, ALTO-100 and ALTO-300, in the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025, respectively. Both programs are developed for major depressive disorder, targeting distinct patient populations identified by objective brain-based biomarkers.
Additionally, based on observed pharmacodynamic effects in humans, Alto plans to advance ALTO-101 and ALTO-203 into Phase 2 proof-of-concept trials, with expected data readouts from late 2024 through the first half of 2025.
Michael Liang, managing director of InVivium Capital, commented on the unmet clinical need in mental healthcare and expressed excitement about supporting Alto in its mission to develop more personalized and effective treatments through its precision psychiatry platform.
