Novel medicines for the brain. A clinical-stage company chasing schizophrenia, epilepsy and depression from labs in Shanghai and Boston.
NeuShen Therapeutics — the brand wordmark.
Neuroscience, meet founder Joan Shen.
NeuShen Therapeutics develops new drugs for central nervous system disorders - the psychiatric and neurological diseases that have humbled the pharmaceutical industry for decades. It is a deliberate choice to work where failure rates are highest and unmet need is largest.
Founded in 2021 by Joan Huaqiong Shen, MD, PhD, NeuShen is built around a simple, difficult mission: "Develop novel treatments that benefit the people living with psychiatric and neurological disorders." The company pairs classic small-molecule chemistry with AAV-based gene therapy, running two discovery engines side by side because the brain's problems do not come in a single shape. Its work spans schizophrenia, epilepsy, treatment-resistant depression, and the psychosis and agitation that accompany Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Shen is not a first-time founder. Before NeuShen she led research and development and served as CEO at I-Mab Biopharma, which listed on Nasdaq and struck a global collaboration with AbbVie around the CD47 antibody lemzoparlimab. After that chapter she turned to a harder organ. The pattern - build, exit, pick something more difficult - is one worth noticing.
Two candidates have reached the clinic; three more sit behind them. The lead programs share a theme: they aim at mechanisms current medicines barely touch.
| Program | Mechanism | Indications | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS-136 | mAChR4 PAM (M4 positive allosteric modulator) |
Schizophrenia; psychosis/agitation in Alzheimer's | Phase IIa |
| NS-041 | KCNQ2/3 activator | Focal onset seizures; major depression; pain | Phase II |
| NS-079 | Neuroplasticity mechanism | Undisclosed CNS | IND-enabling |
| NS-031 | Undisclosed | Treatment-resistant depression | Early dev. |
| NS-050 | Undisclosed | Treatment-resistant depression; Alzheimer's; Parkinson's | Discovery |
For 70 years antipsychotics have chased dopamine. NS-136 targets the M4 muscarinic receptor instead, aiming at the negative symptoms and cognitive impairment that older drugs leave behind. First-in-human dosing began in Australia in 2024.
A highly selective KCNQ2/3 potassium-channel activator being developed for both focal seizures and major depression. When a mechanism is right, biology does not respect our disease categories. Its China IND was cleared by the NMPA-CDE.
The problem. CNS disorders affect hundreds of millions of people, yet the drugs to treat them fail in development more often than in almost any other therapeutic area. Symptoms like the negative symptoms of schizophrenia or treatment-resistant depression remain poorly served. NeuShen's thesis is that mechanism-driven candidates - the M4 receptor, the KCNQ2/3 channel, neuroplasticity - can reach patients that existing medicines miss.
Who it serves. As a drug developer, NeuShen's ultimate beneficiaries are patients with psychiatric and neurological disease and the clinicians treating them. Its direct stakeholders are investors, clinical-trial investigators and sites, regulators such as China's NMPA, and prospective pharmaceutical partners for later-stage development.
Where it fits. NeuShen sits in a fast-moving neighborhood of CNS-focused biotech. Its muscarinic program lands in the same class energizing the field after Bristol Myers Squibb/Karuna's KarXT and AbbVie/Cerevel's emraclidine, alongside players like Neurocrine, Sage, Biohaven, and larger neuroscience houses such as Lundbeck and Boehringer Ingelheim.
What makes it different. Two things stand out: a dual platform combining small molecules with gene therapy, and a cross-border structure that splits discovery in Shanghai from clinical strategy near Boston. Add a founder who has already taken a biotech public, and the differentiation is less about slogans than about setup.
NeuShen runs the venture-backed R&D model: create value by advancing proprietary CNS candidates through preclinical and clinical development, funded by equity, with a path to partnerships, out-licensing or commercialization.
Proceeds will advance preclinical and clinical development across the company's CNS pipeline. Pivotal called NeuShen "one of our most important investments in the CNS area."
Joan Huaqiong Shen launches the company with co-founders Mike Poole and Chao Zhang to build a CNS-focused pipeline.
A dedicated research center in the Boston area complements the Shanghai base, formalizing the cross-border model.
NS-136 (M4 PAM) begins first-in-human dosing in Australia; NS-041 (KCNQ2/3 activator) earns NMPA-CDE IND approval in China.
NeuShen presents at the Global Biopharma Leadership Forum 2025 as its programs advance.
Lilly Asia Ventures leads a Series A+ round with Pivotal bioVenture Partners and existing investors.
Former head of R&D and CEO at I-Mab Biopharma, which listed on Nasdaq and partnered with AbbVie. She founded NeuShen in 2021 to focus on CNS disease.
Co-founder contributing clinical and development leadership to the company's early pipeline.
Co-founder and chief operating officer helping build NeuShen's dual-platform research operation.
It is a clinical-stage biotech that discovers and develops novel drugs for central nervous system disorders such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and depression, using both small-molecule and AAV gene-therapy platforms.
It was founded in 2021 by Joan Huaqiong Shen, MD, PhD (Founder & CEO), with co-founders Mike Poole, MD and Chao Zhang, PhD (COO).
NS-136, a selective M4 receptor positive allosteric modulator for schizophrenia, and NS-041, a highly selective KCNQ2/3 activator for epilepsy and major depression, are the most advanced programs.
It is headquartered in Shanghai, China, with an R&D center in the Lexington/Boston area of Massachusetts.
It is venture-backed. In January 2026 it completed a Series A+ round led by Lilly Asia Ventures, with Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Shanghai Healthcare Capital, Lapam Capital and TTM Capital.
Search video: try "NeuShen Therapeutics" or "M4 PAM schizophrenia" on YouTube for interviews and mechanism explainers. No official NeuShen YouTube channel or product-demo video was confirmed at publication.
Profile compiled from public sources. Pipeline stages and funding details are approximate and reflect the latest available disclosures.