June 17 (Reuters) - Vedana Therapeutics emerged from stealth

on Wednesday with $46 million in funding, which will be used to

develop next-generation therapies for migraine prevention.

Here are the details:

* The Series A financing round was co-led by Westlake

BioPartners and Canaan Partners, with participation from Dawn

Biopharma and Alexandria Venture Investments.

* Migraine, which affects more than a billion people

worldwide, is a type of headache that causes intense, often

throbbing pain, usually on one side of the head, and may be

accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to light and visual

disturbances.

* Vedana's executive team, board and advisers include

leaders who discovered and developed multiple migraine

therapies, including approved calcitonin gene-related peptide

(CGRP) antibodies and the emerging drug class known as pituitary

adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP)

* "We have done this before. We will be the migraine company

of the future," Ernesto Aycardi, Vedana's chief medical officer,

told Reuters. He has previously worked on Teva Pharmaceuticals'

migraine drug Ajovy, one of the first CGRP-targeting

preventive therapies approved by the U.S. FDA.

* Vedana aims to begin human trials in 2027. The company

declined to share its valuation.

* The approval of multiple CGRP-targeting therapies ushered

in the first wave of migraine-specific treatments. However, up

to two-thirds of patients still fail to achieve adequate control

of their condition, the company said.

* The Seattle-based Vedana's approach focuses on PACAP, a

separate brain signaling molecule implicated in migraine that

operates through a pathway distinct from CGRP.

* Its lead drug candidate targets PACAP alone, while a

second therapy aims to inhibit both PACAP and CGRP with a single

antibody. Both are designed for self-administration at home.