CAD $3.5 million, three-year project will support development of brain-targeted small molecules designed to address the biology of habit and compulsion
MONTRÉAL, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Will Therapeutics, an early-stage biotechnology company developing novel small-molecule medicines for psychiatric and compulsive disorders, today announced that its collaborative research project with the Douglas Hospital Research Centre has received support from the Government of Québec, granted through CQDM.
Led by Will Therapeutics’ co-founder and McGill University professor Dr. Salah El Mestikawy, the CAD $3.5 million project is focused on the development of innovative, brain-penetrant small molecules for the potential treatment of anorexia nervosa and other compulsive disorders.
Anorexia nervosa remains one of the most devastating and underserved mental illnesses, with no approved targeted pharmacological treatment. Will Therapeutics is pursuing a new approach grounded in the biology of compulsive behavior: targeting the neural circuitry and neurochemical dysfunction that drive self-destructive patterns of habit and compulsion. The company’s first program focuses on anorexia nervosa, with the potential to extend its approach across a broader family of compulsive disorders.
“Will Therapeutics was founded to build a new category of medicine for compulsive disorders, beginning with anorexia nervosa,” said Benjamin Taylor, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Will Therapeutics. “CQDM’s support reflects the urgency of this mission and the strength of the underlying science, but the larger milestone is what it enables: advancing a program with the potential to become the first approved targeted pharmacological treatment for patients with anorexia nervosa, and to open a path toward treating the biology shared across other compulsive disorders.”
About Will Therapeutics
Will Therapeutics develops medicines that treat the true biology of compulsive disorders. The company’s first program focuses on anorexia nervosa, a profoundly underserved condition with no approved targeted pharmacological treatment. Will Therapeutics is advancing a new approach to compulsive disorders by targeting the neural circuitry and neurochemical mechanisms that drive habit and compulsion, with the potential to extend beyond anorexia nervosa to other related disorders. For more information, visit https://www.willtherapeutics.com.
About CQDM
CQDM is a non-profit biopharmaceutical research consortium whose mission is to support and facilitate collaborative, multi-party research and development aimed at accelerating the translation or transformation of innovative technologies into solutions that address unmet medical needs, while generating significant benefits for the Quebec and Canadian economies. For more information, visit http://www.cqdm.org and join us on LinkedIn.
Media & Investor Contact
Will Therapeutics
1 (773) 497-2639
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https://www.willtherapeutics.com
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SOURCE Will Therapeutics
