Dec 18, 2020

Slater Technology Fund-backed company to be acquired by Novartis By A SLATER TECHNOLOGY FUND-backed company, Cadent Therapeutics, has entered into an agreemnt to be acquired by Novartis in a deal worth up to $770 million. PROVIDENCE – The Cambridge, Mass.-based company Cadent Therapeutics has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Novartis in a deal worth up to $770 million, Slater Technology Fund announced Friday. The company was formed through a merger with the Slater Technology Fund-backed company Mnemosyne Pharmaceuticals. Mnemosyne developed a drug-discovery program targeting the creation of novel therapeutics to treat cognitive dysfunction and a broad range of central nervous system disorders. Slater, an evergreen not-for-profit seed fund dedicated to supporting new venture development in Rhode Island, invested $1.5 million in Mnemosyne, which became an ownership stake in Cadent. Slater noted that former Mnemosyne co-founder Frank Menniti has gone on to start MindImmunue Therapeutics, another Slater-backed company. Mnemosyne moved to Cambridge in 2015 as Luc Therapeutics after finishing an $11.5 million Series A financing round, and merged with Ataxion in 2017 to become Cadent. - Advertisement - “It is incredibly gratifying to see seed investments blossom in so many ways. Congratulations to [CEO of Cadent Therapeutics] Jodie Morrison and her team on creating such a great outcome for all, and to the Mnemosyne founders, who teamed with Richard Horan and Slater a decade ago,” said Thorne Sparkman, managing director of Slater. “This kind of success quite literally fuels the impact that entrepreneurs like the Mnemosyne founders can make by augmenting Slater’s evergreen investment in the next generation of ventures. We cannot wait to pay it forward.” Slater said the deal marked the fourth positive liquidity event for the fund in the past two years. Want to share this story? Click Here to purchase a link that allows anyone to read it on any device whether or not they are a subscriber. TAGS