MapLight Therapeutics

MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel therapeutics for patients with disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). The company was incorporated in 2018, originally as Alvarado Therapeutics, Inc., and changed its name to MapLight Therapeutics, Inc. in August 2019. Its principal executive offices are located at 800 Chesapeake Drive in Redwood City, California, and its common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol MPLT following its October 2025 initial public offering.

MapLight’s approach centers on translating knowledge about brain circuitry into targeted treatments. The company develops a platform intended to identify neural circuits causally linked to disease and to target those circuits for therapeutic modulation, aiming to address conditions where existing options are limited or where specific circuit-based treatments have been lacking.

The company’s lead product candidate, ML-007C-MA, is an oral, extended-release, fixed-dose combination of ML-007, an M1/M4 muscarinic agonist, with a peripherally acting anticholinergic. It is being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials for schizophrenia and for Alzheimer’s disease psychosis. MapLight’s pipeline also includes ML-004 for social communication deficits and/or irritability in autism spectrum disorder, ML-021 for motor deficits in Parkinson’s disease, ML-055 for neuropsychiatric conditions, and ML-009, a G-protein-coupled receptor 52 positive allosteric modulator, for hyperactivity, impulsivity and agitation-related disorders.

MapLight has described its Phase 2 programs in detail: the ZEPHYR trial evaluating ML-007C-MA in schizophrenia is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study expected to enroll approximately 300 hospitalized adults with acute exacerbation of psychotic symptoms, and the IRIS trial is evaluating ML-004 in autism spectrum disorder. The company has indicated that topline results from both trials are anticipated in the third quarter of 2026.

In addition to its internal pipeline, MapLight has entered into strategic research collaborations. It announced a partnership with SandboxAQ to discover and develop potential first-in-class therapies targeting novel G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for CNS diseases, combining SandboxAQ’s AI models and molecular simulation platform with MapLight’s CNS expertise. Under that arrangement, MapLight would hold exclusive rights to clinical development and commercialization of collaboration compounds.

MapLight was founded by leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research, and its scientific advisory board includes co-founders Robert C. Malenka, M.D., Ph.D., and Karl Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D. The company is led by Chief Executive Officer and Director Christopher A. Kroeger, M.B.A., M.D., Ph.D., alongside Chief Medical Officer Erin Pennock Foff, M.D., Ph.D.; Chief Discovery Officer Anatol Kreitzer, Ph.D.; Chief Scientific Officer James Woodruff Lillie, Ph.D.; General Counsel and Secretary Kristopher L. Hanson, J.D.; and Chief Administrative and Accounting Officer Jonathan Gillis, CPA, who also serves as Interim Chief Financial Officer. Yahoo Finance reported approximately 133 full-time employees.

The company completed an initial public offering in October 2025, pricing 14,750,000 shares of common stock at $17.00 per share and concurrently selling shares in a private placement to affiliates of Goldman Sachs. MapLight reported that combined gross proceeds from the IPO and private placement, before underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses, were approximately $296.3 million, and stated that this funding would support operations into 2027.

MapLight describes a culture built on rigorous science, transparency and integrity, with a cohesive, high-functioning team in which employees are expected to inspire, mentor and support one another. The company offers benefits including 401(k) matching, a flexible vacation policy, weekly lunches and team-building events, and notes that it does not engage third-party recruiters or intermediaries for hiring; open positions are posted on its own careers page.