LB Pharmaceuticals Completes $150 Million Placement

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 3 min read

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments reached $403.8 million as of September 30, 2026, after a $150.0 million private placement.

LB Pharmaceuticals Inc (LBRX), a neuromedicines company developing LB-102 for schizophrenia and mood disorders, completed a $150.0 million private placement in July 2026 and reported cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $403.8 million as of September 30, 2026.

The company said the cash is expected to fund operations beyond the second quarter of 2029. Net proceeds were approximately $140.9 million after financial advisory fees and other financing expenses. Proceeds are intended to fund expansion of LB-102 into new indications, potentially including negative symptoms of schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis/agitation, and for general corporate purposes.

Research and development expenses were $51.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2026, versus $2.4 million a year earlier. The company attributed the increase primarily to the Phase 3 NOVA-2 trial of LB-102 in acute schizophrenia and the Phase 2 trial in bipolar depression. General and administrative expenses were $11.0 million, versus $2.8 million a year earlier, which the company said was due to higher headcount compensation, consulting, and public-company costs.

Net loss widened to $59.1 million, or $1.79 a share, from $3.6 million, or $0.61 a share, a year earlier. Weighted-average shares outstanding used in the loss-per-share calculation were 33.1 million, versus 5.8 million a year earlier. Total operating loss was $62.5 million. Interest income was $3.8 million.

Enrollment in the pivotal Phase 3 NOVA-2 trial continues, with topline data still expected in the first half of 2027. The company expects to schedule a pre-New Drug Application meeting with the FDA thereafter in the second half of 2027. That timeline was already moved earlier than prior guidance in the second-quarter update. The 52-week open-label NOVA-3 safety trial continues to enroll patients who have completed NOVA-2 as well as de novo patients.

The Phase 2 ILLUMINATE-1 trial in bipolar 1 depression continues to enroll, with topline data still expected in the first quarter of 2028. Initiation of a Phase 2 trial in adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder is still expected in early 2027, with topline data in the first half of 2029. Based on FDA engagement about a trial in predominantly negative symptoms of schizophrenia, the company expects to provide an update about a potential trial design in the first quarter of 2027.

In September 2026 the company appointed Susan G. Kozauer, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer and Joseph Miller as Chief Financial Officer. Chief Executive Officer Heather Turner said the appointments add executives whose expertise is aligned with advancing LB-102 across multiple neuropsychiatric indications and preparing for potential commercialization in schizophrenia. In October 2026 the company hosted an R&D Day featuring Roger McIntyre, M.D., FRCPC, and presented four posters at the 39th ECNP Congress highlighting new preclinical data on LB-102’s bimodal mechanism of action.

LB-102 is a once-daily oral investigational small molecule engineered from amisulpride and has the potential to be the first benzamide antipsychotic approved for neuropsychiatric disorders in the United States. The company said it remains on track to report NOVA-2 topline results in the first half of 2027 and that, with the cash runway expected to extend beyond the second quarter of 2029, it believes it is positioned to pursue the broader potential of LB-102.