Small Pharma secures £830k in equity funding to develop rapid-acting antidepressant
The funding round was led by Chris Torrance and backed by the Angel CoFund alongside a crowd of angel investors.
Small Pharma is a London-based pharmaceutical company focused on developing low-cost treatments for mental health conditions. Its current pipeline includes a rapid-acting antidepressant derived from ketamine.
Small Pharma has secured £830k in equity funding alongside a £140k grant from Innovate UK to advance its preclinical antidepressant programme. The financing round was led by Chris Torrance, with participation from the Angel CoFund, Tom Valentine, and a group of industry experts including Steve Harris, David Ebsworth, and Peter Keen. A further 63 angel investors also contributed through the SyndicateRoom platform.
The capital will be directed towards formulating the company's novel drug product, which is based on a derivative of ketamine, and preparing for initial proof-of-concept clinical trials. The company aims to address the limitations of existing intravenous treatments, such as adverse side effects and the necessity of medical supervision, by creating an improved delivery mechanism for patients suffering from severe depression.
From the founder
"We are extremely excited to team up with a fantastic set of investors, enabling us to take this project further over the next two years. Depression remains severely undertreated, and with these funds in place we can move forward with a focus on developing our drug candidate to help address the unmet needs of patients with depression."
Peter Rands
Managing Director at Small Pharma
Investor perspective
"Developing drugs of this nature has to be a priority. Current antidepressants typically take six to twelve weeks before a response is established. A fast acting drug, with a novel yet proven mechanism with reduced side-effects would be transformative in bridging this treatment gap."
Chris Torrance
Lead Investor, Chris Torrance
Use of funds
- 01Continue product development
- 02Fund research and development
Investors
Chris Torrance
Chris Torrance
Tim Mills
Angel CoFund
Steve Harris
David Ebsworth
Peter Keen
Tom Valentine
Categories
About the company
Small Pharma
Small Pharma develops rapid-acting antidepressant treatments for severe depression.