Our Story - Ovid Therapeutics

our mission

Ovid seeks to deliver medicines that provide meaningful improvements to the lives of people and families affected by epilepsies and brain disorders that present with seizures.

Our team is curious and persevering in our mission to serve patient communities. We strive to operate with the utmost integrity in every decision and action our company takes.

Read about how we’re guided by our values »

our focus

Ovid Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company striving to conquer epilepsies and seizures with courageous science. Today, nearly 50 million people across the world live with epilepsies and seizures. Approximately half these patients take five or more medicines, yet they still experience seizures. Additionally, some current anti-seizure medicines can also be hard to tolerate as they cause side effects that can diminish overall quality of life.

nearly 50 million people across the world live with epilepsies and seizures

ovid is developing a pipeline of small molecule medicines

potential first-in-class or best-in-class mechanisms of action designed to reduce seizures

At Ovid, we are developing a pipeline of small molecule therapies that we believe can meaningfully improve the lives of those affected by rare epilepsies and neurological disorders that present with seizures. Our team is deeply experienced in the development and commercialization of medicines for neurological and rare diseases. Working together, our experience has led to the development of one late-stage clinical asset, soticlestat, which we sold our rights in to Takeda. Our current pipeline includes two clinical-stage programs: OV329, a next-generation GABA aminotransferase inhibitor; and OV888, a highly selective ROCK2 inhibitor (in collaboration with Graviton Biosciences). The pipeline has one preclinical program of KCC2 activator compounds, including the lead candidate OV350.

The mechanisms of action of our investigational medicines include novel or under-addressed biological targets associated with seizures. These potential first-in-class or best-in-class mechanisms of action are intended to reduce seizures while also having preferable tolerability and safety, making them easier to incorporate into patient treatment plans.

our founding

Ovid was founded in April 2014, in the living room of Dr. Matthew During. Dr. During was an acclaimed neuroscientist known for pioneering early gene therapy and authoring more than 250 scientific publications. Sitting across from him was Dr. Jeremy Levin, a physician, academic and executive, who had just left his role as the global CEO of Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic medicines company in the world. At the time, Levin was expected to take a role at another large pharmaceutical company.

Yet, after many hours of discussion, Levin concluded that he and Matt shared the view: neurology was the next medical frontier that was ripe for medical breakthroughs. Too many patients and families were waiting for medicines and too little progress was on the horizon.

Subsequently, the two set out to create a company to treat rare neurological conditions, specifically focused on conditions that other, much larger pharmaceutical companies had ignored or failed to develop.

When it came time to name the company, a poem by the Roman poet, Ovid, was the inspiration. The poem was “The Metamorphoses”, which – underscored both the change in medical science and the change that the founders sought to achieve for patients.