Montara launches with $8M for safer neurological treatments

Montara Therapeutics has unveiled its innovative BrainOnly platform, aiming to address a significant challenge in the treatment of neurological diseases. The company also announced an $8-million seed funding round to advance its first drug combination therapy.

Montara’s BrainOnly platform focuses on developing two-drug combinations to ensure that therapeutic activity is concentrated within the brain, thereby minimizing peripheral side effects. The first drug in the combination is designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and act on a specific neurological target. The second drug is intended to block any peripheral activity of the first drug, thus reducing unwanted side effects.

Nicholas Hertz, CEO of Montara, emphasized the importance of this approach. “Uncontrolled peripheral side effects or toxicities associated with brain-targeting drugs are often the barrier to promising treatments,” he said. “Our BrainOnly platform aims to eliminate this obstacle, unlocking many previously undruggable neurological targets.”

Montara cited the example of the Parkinson’s disease drug duo, carbidopa and levodopa, to validate its approach. While this combination has been used successfully to treat neurological disorders, Montara is the first company to create an efficient, scalable platform to systematically develop such drug combinations.

The BrainOnly platform is exclusively licensed from the University of California, San Francisco, providing Montara with a unique advantage in this field.

The recent seed funding round was led by SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund and Two Bear Capital, with participation from Dolby Family Ventures and KdT Ventures. This funding will support Montara's efforts to move its lead program — a drug combination with a proven clinical benefit for neurological diseases but severe dose-limiting peripheral toxicities — toward clinical trials. In addition to progressing its lead program, Montara is also working on developing other drug candidates for Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s disease.

The funds will not only help advance the clinical development of Montara's lead program but will also support future partnerships. Dirk Landgraf from SV Health Investors, who joined Montara’s board following the funding round, highlighted the uniqueness of the BrainOnly platform. He noted that the approach “activates the drug in the brain instead of using two drugs with counteracting effects on the same target or pathway.”

Montara Therapeutics is thus poised to make significant strides in the treatment of neurological diseases by leveraging its BrainOnly platform and the recent influx of funding. The company’s innovative approach holds promise for overcoming the long-standing safety issues of peripheral side effects, potentially opening new avenues for treating challenging neurological conditions.