Massachusetts-based Leal Therapeutics, Inc. has closed a USD 30 million Series A extension — the second close of its Series A — alongside the initiation of a Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial of its lead asset LTX-001, a brain-penetrant oral glutaminase 1 (GLS1) inhibitor designed to reduce excessive CNS glutamate.
Eli Lilly and Company joins the round as a new investor, alongside existing backers OrbiMed, Newpath Partners, Euclidean Capital, SV Health Investors' Dementia Discovery Fund, Chugai Venture Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, and PhiFund. The company said proceeds will advance LTX-001 through an initial data readout from the Phase Ib/IIa trial, with results expected by year-end, and fund additional dosing cohorts in the ongoing Phase I/II NeurALS trial of LTX-002 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The extension follows a USD 30 million Series A first close in August 2025, as well as earlier financings of USD 45 million in October 2024 and USD 39 million, bringing total disclosed capital raised to approximately USD 144 million
LTX-001 has completed single ascending dose and multiple ascending dose Phase I studies, demonstrating a favorable safety and tolerability profile and dose-dependent central nervous system (CNS) target engagement, the company said. The newly initiated Phase Ib/IIa trial (NCT07734493) evaluates safety and efficacy in schizophrenia patients. LTX-002, an intrathecally delivered antisense oligonucleotide targeting SPTLC1 to restore sphingolipid homeostasis in the CNS, is being evaluated in the NeurALS Phase I/II trial (NCT07660614).