Delphian Therapeutics Closes $2.7M Seed Round to Advance S1-221 Cannabinoid Migraine Therapeutic into Phase 1 Clinical Trials

May 2024

Delphian Tx has secured $2.7M in seed funding to advance its lead candidate, S1-221, an optimized combination of CBD:THC to treat migraine, into phase 1 clinical trials in 2025.

Delphian Therapeutics is pleased to announce it has closed a $2.7M Seed Round of funding to advance S1-221, its patented CBD:THC combination therapeutic for migraine, into Phase 1 clinical trials.

Despite the introduction of new classes of therapeutics in recent years, migraine remains one of the world's largest, most poorly managed diseases, afflicting over 1 billion people worldwide.

The round was led by a prestigious angel investment group primarily focused on early-stage deep tech and life science. As part of the investment, Michael Rainey, former Global Head of Life Science at Accenture, has joined Delphian's Board of Directors. The round also included the Minato Investment Group, a Japan-based group of angel investors focused on healthcare and life science.

Funded in part by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and by the Migraine Research Foundation, Delphian's scientific program is led by Dr. Greg Dussor, Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas, and is partnered with migraine research labs at the University of Iowa and Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Dr. Alan Rapoport, past President of the International Headache Society, leads Delphian's clinical team of renowned leaders in developing both migraine and cannabinoid therapeutics into S1-221's first-in-human trials.

LifeSci Consulting, a top-tier global pharmaceutical transaction and strategy firm, conducted an in-depth analysis of the opportunity for S1-221 and indicated potential peak sales well over $3 billion. This is consistent with values placed on other migraine therapeutic classes in recent transactions. Lundbeck acquired a CGRP asset for approximately $2 billion after completing Phase 3 trials, and Eli Lilly acquired a 5-HT target for approximately $960 million after Phase 2 trials. LifeSci's analysis indicated that cannabinoids, in which Delphian leads, represent one of the more compelling novel mechanisms of action for an indication with tremendous unmet medical need.