- Companies
- Karuna Therapeutics
Karuna Therapeutics Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Karuna Therapeutics was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb for $14B in December 2023.
Cumulative funding Karuna Therapeutics raised
$110M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in Karuna Therapeutics
ARCH Venture Partners
Wellcome Trust
PureTech Health
Fidelity
Alexandria Venture Investments
Sands Capital Ventures
Sofinnova Investments
Eventide
About Karuna Therapeutics
Karuna Therapeutics is a Boston-based biopharmaceutical company developing muscarinic receptor agonists for schizophrenia and Alzheimer's psychosis. Its lead candidate, KarXT, targets M1 and M4 receptors without dopamine blockade, advancing through Phase 3 trials. The pipeline addresses negative symptoms and cognitive deficits in neurological disorders.
Founded
2009
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Product sales
Valuation
$342M (Mar 2019)
Sectors
Karuna Therapeutics Acquisition
Karuna Therapeutics was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb for $14B on 22 December 2023.
Before the acquisition Karuna Therapeutics had raised $110M across 2 funding rounds.
Bristol Myers Squibb agreed on 22 December 2023 to acquire Karuna Therapeutics for $330.00 per share in cash, a total equity value of approximately $14 billion (about $12.7 billion net of Karuna's cash), representing a premium of roughly 53% to Karuna's closing price the day before. The acquisition closed on 18 March 2024 after Karuna shareholders approved the deal and regulatory clearances were received. The purchase gave Bristol Myers Squibb full ownership of KarXT (xanomeline-trospium), a muscarinic receptor agonist combination that was under FDA review for schizophrenia with a PDUFA date of 26 September 2024 and in registrational trials as adjunctive schizophrenia therapy and for psychosis in Alzheimer's disease; the drug was later approved as Cobenfy. Karuna Therapeutics was founded in 2009 by PureTech Health in Boston around xanomeline, a compound originally developed and abandoned by Eli Lilly, and combined it with trospium to limit peripheral cholinergic side effects. The company raised a $42 million Series A in 2018 and an $80 million Series B in 2019 before listing on Nasdaq in June 2019. PureTech still held about 2.3% of Karuna at closing and received roughly $293 million from the deal. The transaction was Bristol Myers Squibb's largest neuroscience acquisition and anchored the company's rebuilt neuroscience franchise.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 2023 | Strategic M&A | $14B |
Sources: sec.gov, biopharmadive.com
Karuna Therapeutics Valuation
Karuna Therapeutics is currently valued at $342M, based on its Series B in March 2019. Read the announcement ↗
The $68M round was led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from Eventide, Wellcome Trust, Fidelity, Alexandria Venture Investments, Sands Capital Ventures and 4 other investors.
Karuna Therapeutics valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2019 | Series B | $342M |
Karuna Therapeutics Funding History
Karuna Therapeutics has raised a total of $110M across 2 funding rounds.
Karuna Therapeutics' first fundraising round was a $42M Series A in August 2018. The most recent completed round was a $68M Series B in March 2019.
Karuna Therapeutics funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2019 | Series B | ARCH Venture Partners (lead); Eventide; Wellcome Trust; Fidelity; Alexandria Venture Investments; Sands Capital Ventures; Partner Fund Management; Pivotal bioVenture Partners; Sofinnova Investments; PureTech Health | $68M | $342M | Karuna Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, with its lead product candidate KarXT, a proprietary muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist combination for schizophrenia and other CNS conditions. Founded by PureTech Health, Karuna holds a worldwide exclusive license for xanomeline and a patent portfolio covering selective muscarinic targeting. In early 2019, it completed an $80 million Series B financing round, including a $12 million extension, with investors such as ARCH Venture Partners (lead), Fidelity Management & Research Company, Eventide Asset Management, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Partner Fund Management, Wellcome Trust, Sands Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, Sofinnova Investments, and PureTech Health. The funds supported ongoing Phase 2 trials for acute psychosis in schizophrenia, exploration of new indications like geriatric psychosis, Alzheimer's disease psychosis, and pain, plus novel KarXT formulations and early-stage discovery. Investors like ARCH Venture Partners participated via Arch Venture Partners IX, LLC, which later held significant shares as of July 2019. Post-Series B, Karuna advanced KarXT development, leading to an IPO in June 2019 raising $89.25 million and eventual acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in March 2024. The company focused on addressing unmet needs in neuropsychiatric disorders through muscarinic receptor modulation, differentiating from traditional antipsychotics by avoiding dopamine receptor blockade to reduce side effects like weight gain and movement disorders. |
| Aug 2018 | Series A | ARCH Venture Partners (lead); Wellcome Trust; Steven Paul; PureTech Health | $42M | - | Karuna Therapeutics (also referred to as Karuna Pharmaceuticals), a Boston-based biotech company, develops novel therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders. Its lead candidate, KarXT (xanomeline-trospium chloride), is a muscarinic agonist-antagonist combination derived from Eli Lilly's investigational xanomeline, designed to treat schizophrenia by reducing cholinergic side effects through trospium, which acts peripherally. In August 2018, Karuna closed a $42 million Series A funding round led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from PureTech Health (its founder), Wellcome Trust, Steven Paul (former Third Rock Ventures partner), and others. The proceeds fund a Phase II clinical trial of KarXT in schizophrenia, set to start that quarter to replicate and expand on Eli Lilly's prior data, and expand research into areas like non-opiate pain treatments. Post-Series A, Karuna pursued further development, completing a Series B round totaling around $80-82 million by April 2019, with extensions from investors including Sofinnova Investments ($12 million), Fidelity Management & Research, Eventide Asset Management, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Partner Fund Management, Sands Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments. Stake ownership at that time included PureTech at 43.5%, ARCH at 18.6%, and Wellcome Trust at 7.5%. Karuna advanced KarXT into Phase II for schizophrenia psychosis and planned trials for psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive/negative symptoms in schizophrenia, and pain. The company held a worldwide exclusive license for xanomeline and secured U.S. patents for KarXT. It later went public with a $75-89 million IPO in June 2019, raising additional capital for Phase III trials and pipeline expansion. |
Who has invested in Karuna Therapeutics?
11 investors have backed Karuna Therapeutics across its funding rounds, including ARCH Venture Partners, Wellcome Trust, PureTech Health, Fidelity, Alexandria Venture Investments and Sands Capital Ventures.
Lead investors include ARCH Venture Partners.
Karuna Therapeutics Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Aug 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Mar 2019 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 11 Karuna Therapeutics investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialKaruna Therapeutics Competitors
Karuna Therapeutics competitors include listed companies like Kelun-Biotech, BridgeBio Pharma, Laurus Labs and Ipsen, and private ones like Biosplice Therapeutics and Intas Pharmaceuticals.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $309M | ($39M) | $14B | 35.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $502M | ($569M) | $14B | 16.3x | ||
| Publicly listed | $714M | $193M | $13B | 16.1x | ||
| Publicly listed | $4.4B | $1.1B | $15B | 2.7x | ||
| Private | - | - | $12B | - | ||
| Private | $2B | - | $8.5B | - |
Karuna Therapeutics Public Comps
Karuna Therapeutics is no longer listed, but its public comps include Kelun-Biotech, BridgeBio Pharma, Laurus Labs, Baxter International, Ipsen, Yunnan Baiyao Group, Summit Therapeutics, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Elanco and Sino Biopharmaceutical.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $309M | ($39M) | 42.6x | 35.0x | (340.1x) | (2496.2x) | |||
| $502M | ($569M) | 32.6x | 16.3x | (28.8x) | (47.6x) | |||
| $714M | $193M | 19.2x | 16.1x | 71.0x | 52.9x | |||
| $11B | $714M | 1.8x | 1.7x | 28.2x | 9.1x | |||
| $4.4B | $1.1B | 3.0x | 2.7x | 12.6x | 6.3x | |||
| $6.2B | $951M | 2.1x | 2.0x | 13.5x | 14.0x | |||
| - | ($1.1B) | - | 5744.3x | (11.5x) | (15.7x) | |||
| $4.3B | $263M | 4.2x | 3.8x | 67.8x | 12.1x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Karuna Therapeutics competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Karuna Therapeutics
| When was Karuna Therapeutics founded? | Karuna Therapeutics was founded in 2009. |
| Where is Karuna Therapeutics headquartered? | Karuna Therapeutics is headquartered in Boston, MA, United States. |
| Is Karuna Therapeutics publicly listed? | No, Karuna Therapeutics was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in December 2023. |
| Who acquired Karuna Therapeutics? | Karuna Therapeutics was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in December 2023. |
| How much was Karuna Therapeutics acquired for? | Karuna Therapeutics was acquired for $14B in December 2023. |
| What is Karuna Therapeutics' valuation? | Karuna Therapeutics was last valued at $342M in its Series B in March 2019. |
| How much funding has Karuna Therapeutics raised? | Karuna Therapeutics has raised $110M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was Karuna Therapeutics' last funding round? | Karuna Therapeutics' last funding round was a $68M Series B in March 2019, led by ARCH Venture Partners. |
| Who are Karuna Therapeutics' investors? | Karuna Therapeutics' investors include Wellcome Trust, PureTech Health, ARCH Venture Partners, Eventide, Fidelity, Alexandria Venture Investments, Sands Capital Ventures, Partner Fund Management, Steven Paul, Pivotal bioVenture Partners and 1 other. |
| Which companies are comparable to Karuna Therapeutics? | Companies comparable to Karuna Therapeutics include Kelun-Biotech, BridgeBio Pharma, Laurus Labs, Ipsen, Biosplice Therapeutics and Intas Pharmaceuticals. |
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