Nocion Therapeutics Extends Series B Financing to $93 Million to Support Late-Stage Development of Taplucainium in Chronic Cough

• Topline results from the ASPIRE Phase 2b study expected in mid-2026 with operating runway through 2027
• Series B extension was led by Arkin Bio Capital and Monograph Capital, with participation from BioInnovation Capital, Canaan Partners, F-Prime Capital, Lumira Ventures, Mass General Brigham Ventures, Mission BioCapital, Morningside, Osage University Partners, and an undisclosed Strategic Investor

WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nocion Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has raised $23 million from existing investors in an extension of its Series B, bringing the total amount of the Series B financing to $93 million. The financing extends the Company’s operating runway through 2027, beyond the expected topline results from Nocion’s ASPIRE Phase 2b clinical trial of taplucainium in adults with refractory or unexplained chronic cough (rCC/uCC), which are expected in mid-2026.

Proceeds will support the development of taplucainium dry powder for inhalation for the treatment of chronic cough beyond the ASPIRE study towards later-stage activities such as an End-of-Phase 2 meeting and CMC activities in preparation for later-stage clinical development. Taplucainium is a first-in-class and potentially best-in-class, locally delivered, charged sodium channel blocker (CSCB) designed to selectively silence activated/inflamed airway nociceptors with minimal local off-target effects or systemic exposure.

The ASPIRE Phase 2b clinical trial is currently enrolling at sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Europe.

“We have made excellent progress enrolling patients in the ASPIRE Phase 2b trial and anticipate topline results in mid-2026,” said Richard Batycky, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Nocion. “This financing gives us the runway to continue preparations for later-stage development as we look to position taplucainium as one of the leading potential treatments for the millions of people who suffer from chronic cough.”

“During the past year we have seen growing awareness across the pharmaceutical industry of the significant unmet need in chronic cough,” said Pini Orbach, Ph.D., Managing Partner at Arkin Bio Capital. “With success in the ASPIRE study, we believe Nocion’s inhaled taplucainium has the potential to become best-in-class for refractory or unexplained chronic cough based on its differentiated mechanism.”

ABOUT CHRONIC COUGH
Chronic cough is defined as cough lasting more than eight weeks and is associated with significant physical, social and psychosocial burden. It is estimated that approximately 27 million adults in the United States suffer from chronic cough, of which approximately 9 million suffer from refractory or unexplained chronic cough (rCC/uCC). No new therapies have been approved in the last 65 years and chronic cough is often treated with off-label approaches that may be inadequate or ineffective.

ABOUT TAPLUCAINIUM
Taplucainium (formerly NTX-1175) dry powder for inhalation is a proprietary molecule in the novel class of charged sodium channel blockers (CSCBs) designed to selectively silence activated/inflamed nociceptors while having minimal local off-target effects or systemic exposure. It is delivered once daily and in prior studies has shown a rapid onset of effect for cough silencing with a very favorable adverse event profile. Unlike other investigational cough therapies, such as P2X3 antagonists that target a specific large pore channel (LPC), taplucainium is designed to gain access to airway nociceptors through open LPCs and then inhibit the sodium channels responsible for initiating the pathological cough response. This broader mechanism has shown antitussive effects in preclinical models of cough. Together with preliminary safety and efficacy data from earlier-stage clinical work, these findings support evaluation of taplucainium in cough indications beyond chronic cough.

ABOUT NOCION
Nocion Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule CSCBs, “nocions,” that selectively affect actively firing nociceptors for the treatment of serious conditions involving cough, itch, and pain. The Company’s mission is to safely alleviate suffering for millions of patients with conditions arising from activated sensory neurons. Working with Harvard’s Office of Technology Development, Nocion was founded on an exclusive license to foundational intellectual property from Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital.