Montara Therapeutics Closes $20M Oversubscribed Seed Expansion, Appoints Troy Wilson as Chairman of the Board

Syndicate strengthened with new investors and increased commitments from all existing investors.

Total Series Seed funding reaches $28M to advance lead epilepsy program to IND, progress neurodegeneration program to development candidate (DC), and accelerate a third undisclosed program.

Troy Wilson joins as Chairman of the Board, bringing extensive leadership, operating, and financing experience.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Montara Therapeutics, a biotech company pioneering brain-selective therapies for CNS diseases, today announced the closing of a $20 million oversubscribed expansion of its Series Seed financing. The round, which brings Montara’s total seed funding to $28 million, includes increased participation from all existing investors, including founding investor SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, Two Bear Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, and KdT Ventures, along with new investments from BEVC and additional investors.

“As we take this next critical step towards the clinic, we’re thrilled by upsized commitments from our existing investors and welcome the new investors to our syndicate,” said Nicholas T. Hertz, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Montara. “This funding positions us to deliver on our mission — developing BrainOnly therapies, which selectively target the CNS while blocking harmful peripheral effects. It enables us to drive our lead rare epilepsy program to IND within the next 12 months while accelerating a second program for an age-related neurodegenerative disease and a third, undisclosed initiative. The fact that we have been able to rapidly generate in vivo proof of concept and move towards IND enabling studies in just one year underscores the strength of our team and the BrainOnly platform.”

“On behalf of the investor syndicate and the board, we congratulate the Montara team, which has made exceptional progress and achieved all the R&D goals of the original seed round, a culmination of careful planning and outstanding execution during the company’s incubation phase and based on the foundational work from Dr. Kevan Shokat’s lab at UCSF,” commented Dirk Landgraf, Ph.D., Principal at SV and Director. “This team definitively crushed every important milestone with efficiency and integrity. Significantly expanding this funding round, bringing in new committed partners, and strengthening the board of directors, all in what some find a challenging fundraising environment, speak to Montara’s outstanding productivity and the transformative potential of the BrainOnly platform for patients,” added J. Seth Strattan, PhD, General Partner at Two Bear Capital and Director.

In connection with the financing, Troy E. Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., has joined Montara as an Independent Director and Chairman of the Board. Dr. Wilson, a successful serial entrepreneur and current President and CEO of Kura Oncology, has founded and operated multiple successful companies, including Kura, Avidity Biosciences, Wellspring Biosciences, Araxes Pharma, Intellikine, and Ambrx. Dr. Wilson is also participating in the Seed round as an investor.

“I’m delighted to join Montara at this exciting stage,” said Dr. Wilson. “The BrainOnly platform has the potential to revolutionize CNS disease treatment by minimizing or eliminating peripheral side effects and potential toxicities, a major challenge for most CNS-directed therapies. Rather than using co-administered compounds with opposing effects, Montara’s approach employs a universal peripheral blocker, which can be paired with various therapeutic agents. This breakthrough technology has the potential to transform previously undruggable CNS targets into viable therapeutic opportunities and improve the therapeutic index of existing CNS-targeted therapies. I look forward to working with Nicholas, the team, and the board to advance this groundbreaking science and bring transformative treatments to patients.”

Montara’s BrainOnly platform is designed to improve the therapeutic index of CNS drugs and enable higher, more effective dosing of CNS-targeted therapies by blocking peripheral side effects, addressing major safety and tolerability challenges in the treatment of various neurological diseases. The differentiated approach has garnered early interest from multiple potential partners, underscoring the platform’s potential to redefine CNS drug development.

About Montara Therapeutics

Montara Therapeutics is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing novel approaches to develop safer and more efficacious treatments for neurological diseases. Montara’s BrainOnly platform enables brain-specific pharmacology by leveraging existing and novel chemical warheads, restricting deleterious on-target / off-tissue peripheral activity. BrainOnly holds the potential to drug numerous targets previously considered undruggable greatly expanding the therapeutic options for patients in need of these therapies. Montara is supported by an outstanding group of investors, including founding investor SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, Two Bear Capital, KdT Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures, and BEVC. For more information, visit montaratx.com.

Media Contact:
Janine McCargo
6 Degrees
jmccargo@6degreespr.com

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