MapLight Therapeutics has illuminated a path toward an initial public offering, filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sept. 19 to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "MPLT."
Should the IPO go through, MapLight would become just the second biotech to go public since February, following in the footsteps of LB Pharmaceuticals’ approximately $285 million listing earlier this month.
Like LB, MapLight is advancing a schizophrenia asset that seeks to challenge BMS’ schizophrenia med Cobenfy.
MapLight’s stock exchange plans come just a couple of months after the California-based brain disease biotech raised a $372.5 million series D round. The company sought those funds primarily to support ML-007C-MA, which is currently in phase 2 trials in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis.
Both trials have planned readouts in 2027. The schizophrenia study launched in July, while the Alzheimer’s psychosis trial just started Sept. 17.
MapLight’s other phase 2 candidate, ML-004, is being tested for social communication deficits in patients with autism spectrum disorder, with a planned completion date in the fall of 2026.
The biotech also plans to complete investigational new drug application-enabling studies for two preclinical candidates next year, according to the filing, one in development for Parkinson’s disease and another for hyperactivity, impulsivity and agitation-related disorders.
Though supported by Big Pharmas like Sanofi and Novo Nordisk parent company Novo Holdings, MapLight has readily burned through heaps of cash. The biotech’s current deficit is $251.6 million as of June 30, per the SEC filing, with $60.5 million on hand.
“We will require substantial additional financing in addition to the proceeds of this offering to achieve our goals,” MapLight said in the filing. “Failure to obtain additional capital when needed, or on acceptable terms, could cause us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts.”