Business Description

Overview Ovid is a biopharmaceutical company that is dedicated to developing small molecule medicines for brain disorders with significant unmet need. These potential medicines targeting the central nervous system (“CNS”) are designed to potentially halt the course of brain disease by quelling neuronal hyperexcitation and alleviating the most impactful patient symptoms. We seek to address fundamental biological targets in the brain that are implicated in neuronal hyperexcitability, such as neurotransmitters and dysregulated ion channels. By mitigating excessive neuronal hyperexcitation with differentiated medicines, we believe we can unlock substantial scientific, therapeutic and commercial opportunities across a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions that have few therapeutic options today, both impacting patients’ lives and creating long-term stockholder value. Over the last decade, scientific understanding of the underlying biology of neuronal hyperexcitability and the related pathophysiology of epilepsies, psychoses, and other brain disorders has significantly advanced. Today, the underpinnings of many monogenic epilepsies and seizure disorders are becoming better understood and can be linked to mutations in specific molecular transporters, ion channels and receptors. Additionally, science is beginning to illuminate the systemic and damaging effects of over-excitation on neuronal networks, including its relationship to cell inflammation, stress and apoptosis. This improved understanding of the genesis and pathophysiology of disease, coupled with advances in preclinical research tools, is enhancing the predictive potential of translational research, and thereby improving the probability of successful clinical development of CNS medicines. Additionally, emerging scientific evidence suggests that hyperexcitability of neurons is implicated in a broad range of conditions well beyond seizures and psychoses. Therefore, ameliorating excessive neuronal hyperexcitability may offer therapeutic relevance and applications in a broad array of brain disorders, including certain psychiatric, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental conditions, and other brain traumas. Despite the scientific advances mentioned above, the unmet need for people living with seizures, epilepsies, and psychiatric diseases remains significant. Relatively few therapeutics utilizing new mechanisms of action (“MoAs”) have been approved in recent decades, and most patients are not ‘cured’ of these conditions. Therefore, the need and opportunity for medicines that act upon fundamental biological targets that impact neuronal excitatory/inhibitory balance remain substantial. Our vision and focus Our vision is to create sustained long-term value by advancing a differentiated pipeline of small molecule medicines intended to culminate in a fully integrated neurotherapeutics company with multiple clinical-stage programs and commercial medicines. We believe the lack of new classes of medicine in neurology and neuropsychiatry represents both an unmet need and a significant opportunity. Through our research and development (“R&D”) and business development strategies, we have in-licensed and clinically developed potential medicines that may offer first-in-class or best-in-class MoAs. Our programs are intended to act upon fundamental biological targets associated with neuronal hyperexcitability in a mechanistically precise fashion. It is our intent to eventually market a franchise of unique medicines that mitigate patient symptoms, such as seizures and psychoses, that stem from hyper-excited neurons. Over time, our efforts have resulted in five clinical-stage drug development programs, including two programs that advanced to late-stage trials. Our current clinical programs are indicated for the potential treatment of drug-resistant focal onset seizures (“FOS”), developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (“DEEs”), including tuberous sclerosis complex (“TSC”) seizures and infantile spasms (“IS”) , psychosis associated with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia (“LBD”), and schizophrenia. Several preclinical programs are also anticipated to be advanced for other forms of psychosis and mood disorders. Importantly, we seek to develop medical therapies that are more efficacious and/or have ‘gentler’ profiles for patients, meaning drugs that are intended to deliver preferable safety and tolerability profiles relative to approved drugs.…