Led · Grant · Nov 2020

CODA Biotherapeutics is developing a gene therapy‑mediated chemogenetic platform intended to modulate specific neuronal circuits for neurological disorders. The approach uses AAV‑mediated delivery of an engineered inhibitory receptor via standard neurosurgical procedures. The receptor is designed to remain quiescent until activated dose‑dependently by a novel, orally bioavailable small‑molecule agonist. CODA expects this controllable mechanism to produce durable symptom control while potentially avoiding off‑target or adverse effects of current treatments. The company is preclinical but plans to advance its neuropathic pain programs toward human clinical trials. Recent financing increased CODA’s cash balances to fund continued progress on its platform and initial indications. CODA Biotherapeutics is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company creating a gene therapy–mediated chemogenetic platform to control neuronal activity for neurological disorders. The company uses AAV vectors to deliver engineered inhibitory ligand-gated ion channel receptors that remain quiescent until activated by proprietary, orally bioavailable small-molecule agonists. CODA’s initial therapeutic focus is neuropathic pain, with epilepsy also cited as an area of interest. The firm intends to advance its receptor–ligand pairs toward human clinical trials to provide durable, targeted pain relief while minimizing off-target effects. CODA has been funded via a $670,000 NINDS SBIR grant over two years to support its neuropathic pain program and is participating in the NIH HEAL Initiative. The company was also selected to collaborate with NCATS to develop iPSC-derived Aβ sensory neurons to evaluate and characterize its inhibitory chemogenetic receptors. CODA is located in South San Francisco, California. Coda Biotherapeutics develops chemogenetic gene therapies that create engineered receptors in sensory neurons which can be activated by small-molecule drugs to silence pain signals. The company was co-founded by Joseph Glorioso and Dr. Nicholas Boulis and is led by president and CEO Michael Narachi. Coda repurposes a portfolio of previously developed receptor–small-molecule pairs that were discarded for lack of efficacy, engineering receptors to respond only to those man-made drugs. Its initial clinical focus is severe chronic neuropathic pain (which it cites as affecting more than 19 million Americans) and focal epilepsy (Coda says focal epilepsy represents about 60% of epilepsy manifestations; roughly 3.4 million people in the U.S. have epilepsy). So far the company has raised $34 million and recently secured a $15 million cash infusion from investors including Versant Ventures, MPM Capital and Astellas Venture Management. Proceeds will support preclinical work—Coda plans early animal trials followed by human clinical trials. Coda Biotherapeutics is a South San Francisco–based preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a chemogenetic gene therapy platform to treat intractable diseases. Its platform seeks to modify target cell populations via gene therapy to express a tunable “switch” protein that enables dose-dependent activation or inactivation of only the modified cells by a subsequently administered small-molecule therapeutic. The company’s initial clinical focus is neurological diseases, with the first application aimed at management of chronic neuropathic pain. Coda intends to use the Series A proceeds to advance its gene therapy platform toward the clinic. The company is led by president and CEO Michael Narachi, M.S., MBA, and its board includes partners from its investors alongside company founders and executives.