Solvonis Therapeutics PLC (LSE:SVNS) has secured £1 million from its largest shareholders to speed up the development of new treatments for depression and drug addiction, using artificial intelligence to target two areas with limited therapeutic options.
The London-listed biotech said three of its biggest investors had subscribed for stock at a 3.5% premium to the previous day’s closing price.
The funds will be used to drive forward Solvonis’ drug discovery platform, which applies AI-driven modelling, proprietary chemical libraries and translational tools to central nervous system disorders.
The company is initially focusing on major depressive disorder and stimulant use disorder, which includes dependency on drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines.
Despite widespread use of antidepressants, the sector has seen little recent innovation. The global antidepressant market was worth an estimated £15 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow at 7.5% a year over the next decade, according to Global Market Insights.
Treatment options for stimulant addiction are even more limited, with no medicines currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Solvonis said the proceeds from the subscription would allow it to accelerate lead identification and early-stage candidate validation, the early steps in drug development aimed at finding and testing the most promising compounds.
CEO Anthony Tennyson said: "We are pleased to receive this investment from our largest and longest-standing shareholders.
"Their continued conviction supports our strategy to lead innovation in addiction and mental health therapeutics, including the acceleration of our proprietary AI-supported discovery platform.
"This funding enables acceleration of building a differentiated pipeline in stimulant use and depressive disorders."