KT invests $5 million in Series A funding for neurodrug company NeuroSigma

MOU Signed Last June... Cooperation in Development and Commercialization

Song Jae-ho, Vice President of KT AI/DX Convergence Business Division, and a NeuroSigma official are signing the SPA document. Photo by KT

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] KT announced on the 8th that it will make a Series A investment of $5 million in NeuroSigma, a U.S. electronic medicine development company.

In June, KT signed a business agreement with NeuroSigma to begin cooperation in product development and commercialization in the electronic medicine field. This equity investment is expected to further strengthen the existing business partnership aimed at securing next-generation innovative technologies.

NeuroSigma is a specialized company developing electronic medicine that treats neuropsychiatric disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, and epilepsy by stimulating brain nerves through electronic patches instead of drugs. In 2019, it developed the neuropsychiatric treatment electronic medicine 'Monarch eTNS (Monarch external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation System)' and became the first to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a non-drug treatment alternative.

Based on this investment, NeuroSigma plans to promote full-scale commercialization in the U.S. market. Additionally, it intends to expand the application range of electronic medicine to indications such as epilepsy and depression and conduct clinical trials to obtain additional FDA approvals.

Recently, KT was globally recognized for its medical AI technology by winning first place at the international medical AI competition held by the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society (MICCAI). Leveraging its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and cloud, KT will support the design and development of the next-generation version of the 'eTNS' product and advance monitoring and AI analysis services linked with the KT digital healthcare platform. Furthermore, KT will collaborate on clinical trials and regulatory approvals for domestic commercialization, ultimately expanding to patient-customized treatment solutions.

Song Jae-ho, Vice President and Head of KT AI·DX Convergence Business Division, said, "We are pleased to join in the full-scale business promotion such as the global commercialization of NeuroSigma's electronic medicine through this investment." He added, "The two companies are concretizing business synergy plans in the electronic medicine and digital therapeutics market, which will be the starting point for KT's full-scale entry into the digital therapeutics market."