Finland-based Kasvu Therapeutics has raised EUR 30 million (USD 34.4 million) in a Series A financing to advance KTX-0141, a small-molecule TrkB positive allosteric modulator being developed for major depressive disorder (MDD), toward first-in-human testing. The company plans to begin Phase I/Ib development in H2 2027.
Why it matters: Kasvu is attempting to reproduce the neuroplasticity associated with psychedelic compounds without triggering their hallucinogenic effects. KTX-0141 is designed to enhance endogenous BDNF-TrkB signaling while avoiding activation of the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor, potentially enabling a conventional take-home treatment rather than supervised psychedelic administration.
Kasvu was founded in 2023 as a spinout from the University of Helsinki around research from the groups of professors Eero Castrén and Ilpo Vattulainen. Castrén's group showed that psychedelics including LSD and psilocin can bind directly to TrkB, a receptor involved in BDNF-mediated neuroplasticity, independently of the 5-HT2A receptor associated with psychedelic effects. Vattulainen's group used molecular modeling and supercomputing to characterize a TrkB transmembrane binding site that helped inform the company's drug-discovery approach.
Kasvu used those findings to develop KTX-0141, which is intended to selectively potentiate TrkB signaling without engaging 5-HT2A. The company said preclinical studies showed enhanced TrkB signaling, structural and functional neuroplasticity, CNS penetration, and no hallucinogenic activity in a standard preclinical model.