HMNC Brain Health, a Munich-based clinical-stage biopharma company, has raised $50 million in the first closing of its Series B financing led by MEDICE. The firm pairs AI-powered genetic companion diagnostics with targeted therapeutics to personalize treatment for major depressive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. The capital will support development of its lead assets Ketabon and Nelivabon while advancing European commercialization through the MEDICE partnership.
Precision Psychiatry Gains Commercial Traction
The timing aligns with growing investor interest in biomarker-guided approaches to mental health. Alto Neuroscience raised over $145 million including a March 2026 financing. MapLight Therapeutics closed a $372.5 million Series D in July 2025. Seaport Therapeutics secured $225 million in its Series B in October 2024. HMNC differentiates by co-developing specific drug-companion diagnostic pairs rather than relying solely on multi-modal biomarkers or psychedelic platforms.
Trial-and-Error Psychiatry Costs Billions
Approximately 30 percent of the 320 million people with major depressive disorder worldwide fail to respond to at least two antidepressants, creating a treatment-resistant depression population of roughly 100 million. Current therapies often require weeks to show effect and carry high side-effect burdens. The societal cost of depression exceeds $200 billion annually in the United States alone. Existing ketamine options for treatment-resistant depression demand in-clinic administration due to dissociative effects.
Genetic Selection Paired With Novel Compounds
HMNC combines proprietary genetic tests with three clinical programs. Ketabon is an oral prolonged-release ketamine formulation designed for at-home use with reduced dissociative side effects. Nelivabon, a vasopressin V1b receptor antagonist, showed statistically significant results in the Phase 2b OLIVE trial with a larger effect in a genetically defined subgroup. Cortibon pairs a CRHR1 antagonist with a patient selection tool. The company already commercializes its ABCB1 pharmacogenomic test in Germany, Switzerland, and France.
As HMNC stated on the financing announcement:
"Together, these two milestones represent key validation of our approach and vision of building a next-generation precision neuroscience company to reshape mental health treatment for the millions of patients not treated sufficiently by existing therapies."
MEDICE Deal Signals Strategic Validation
MEDICE led the Series B and simultaneously secured European commercialization rights for Ketabon under a tiered royalty and milestone structure. Existing investor Carsten Maschmeyer also participated. The dual financing and partnership structure provides both capital and a ready commercial infrastructure in Europe, allowing HMNC to focus resources on Phase 3 advancement.
Precision Psychiatry Market Accelerates
The precision psychiatry market stands at $5.72 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $9.81 billion by 2030 at a 14.4 percent CAGR. The treatment-resistant depression segment is expected to grow from $2.67 billion in 2026 to $6.15 billion by 2034. Structural drivers include maturing regulatory pathways for biomarker-stratified trials and advances in genomics and AI that enable biological subtyping previously unavailable in psychiatry.
Max Planck Legacy Drives Differentiation
Scientific co-founder Prof. Florian Holsboer previously directed the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry and ranks among the world's most cited researchers. This foundation supplies 30 years of neuroendocrinology and genomics expertise that underpins HMNC's companion diagnostic platform.