10143464A novel treatment for anxiety disorders that is fast-acting and well tolerated with low abuse liability compared to current treatmentsActiveCollaborative R&DInnovate UKKadence Bio (Kadence) is a UK-based biotech SME. Mental health issues are the leading cause of disability in the UK, accounting for up to 22.8% of the total associated economic burden. In 2022, approximately one in six UK adults reported experiencing a common mental health problem during any given week, with anxiety levels in the UK reaching their highest during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK economy is losing at least £118B annually due to mental health problems. Without better treatments, the financial costs to society will continue to rise as more people report mental health struggles. Current acute anxiety treatments such as benzodiazepines and antidepressant SSRIs come with undesirable side-effects and delayed therapeutic responses. \>70% of patients receiving current standard-of-care (e.g. SSRIs/benzodiazepines) experience side-effects. Benzodiazepines are associated with high abuse potential and risk of tolerance, and antidepressant SSRIs exhibit delayed onset of action, requiring several weeks of exposure to impart a therapeutic effect. There remains a need for a rapidly effective, well-tolerated treatment for anxiety disorders. To address this challenge, Kadence is developing a novel treatment for anxiety disorders that is fast-acting, effective, safe and well-tolerated. Kadence aims to develop such a treatment for the acute treatment of anxiety without abuse liability, improving patient outcomes and reducing the socio-economic burden of anxiety. Kadence's innovation, as compared to current treatments like benzodiazepines and antidepressant SSRIs, promises faster symptom relief, a lower risk of side-effects, fewer pills to take and ultimately better affordability, benefitting up to 500M patients worldwide suffering with anxiety and depression.