MapLight raises $150M private placement to fund brain drug through 2028
What's the deal? MapLight Therapeutics has raised roughly $150 million in a private placement financing, the Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical company announced on August 13, 2026. New and existing institutional investors led the round, which is expected to close on August 14.
The mechanics: MapLight is selling 9,197,887 shares of common stock at $11.38 each, plus pre-funded warrants for up to 3,983,168 shares at $11.3799 apiece. Morgan StanleyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, JefferiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Leerink PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Stifel are acting as placement agents.
What's the endgame? The San Francisco and Boston-based company is developing ML-007C-MA for central nervous system disorders. Proceeds will fund its VISTA Phase 2 study in Alzheimer's disease psychosis and its ZEPHYR-2 registrational Phase 3 study in schizophrenia.
Why now? MapLight plans to meet with the US Food and Drug Administration at an End-of-Phase 2 meeting to discuss the path forward for ML-007C-MA in schizophrenia, including a Phase 3 trial design to support a New Drug Application.
By the numbers: MapLight held $351.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments as of June 30, 2026. With the new proceeds, it expects to fund ML-007C-MA through 2028.
The signal: The raise ranks in the 95th percentile by size among non-VC private placements in US healthcare, based on a sample of 231 comparable deals — a sign of continued investor appetite for late-stage neuroscience programmes.
Read more: Central Charts
Image credit: MapLight Therapeutics
