MapLight Therapeutics Business Summary

MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. (MPLT) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that generates value through the discovery and development of circuit-specific pharmacotherapies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Currently pre-revenue, the company’s financial model is driven by research and development milestones, strategic collaborations—such as its $200 million discovery partnership with SandboxAQ—and potential future licensing or commercialization of its proprietary STARmap and optogenetics-based platform. MapLight’s primary business segments are focused on neuropsychiatry and neurology, with a clinical pipeline targeting schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, autism spectrum disorder, and Parkinson’s disease. The company competes directly with established CNS players like Bristol-Myers Squibb, Intra-Cellular Therapies, and Sage Therapeutics, positioning itself as a precision-medicine innovator that targets specific neural circuits to minimize off-target effects common in traditional psychiatric medications. The company was founded by a distinguished team of neuroscientists and industry veterans, including CEO Christopher Kroeger, M.D., and world-renowned Stanford researchers Robert Malenka, M.D., Ph.D., and Karl Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D., the latter of whom is a pioneer of optogenetics. The executive leadership team is further bolstered by Chief Medical Officer Erin Pennock Foff, M.D., Ph.D., and Chief Scientific Officer James Lillie, Ph.D., who brings extensive drug development experience from Sanofi Genzyme and OvaScience. Other key leaders include Chief Discovery Officer Anatol Kreitzer, Ph.D., and CFO Vishwas Setia, formerly of Bank of America Securities. MapLight is backed by a robust roster of institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs, 5AM Ventures, and Forbion, and maintains a board of directors featuring industry experts such as Timothy Garnett and Nanna Lüneborg.