GIMBHI’s daily mental health update — 1/25/26

🧪 Exciva raises €51M Series B to fund Phase 2 trial for Alzheimer’s agitation drug (Benjamin Gächter, Trending Topics) — 01/21/26
TL;DR: Heidelberg-based Exciva secured €51M in Series B funding led by Gimv and EQT Life Sciences to advance Deraphan, a CNS drug combination aimed at treating agitation and other neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s dementia, with proceeds focused on a Europe-US-Canada Phase 2 study.

🏛️ House bill proposes $2.79B for SAMHSA mental health programs, extends Medicare telehealth flexibilities to 2028 (Ashleigh Hollowell, Behavioral Health Business) — 01/22/26
TL;DR: A new House appropriations bill would fund SAMHSA mental health programs at over $2.79B and provide $385.5M for CCBHC grants, while extending Medicare’s COVID-era telehealth flexibilities through Dec. 31, 2027 and delaying in-person mental health visit requirements until Jan. 1, 2028, with a new interpreter-accommodations requirement for telehealth.

🧩 AnswersNow raises $40M Series B to scale BCBA-led, AI-enabled virtual ABA autism therapy (GlobeNewswire, The Manila Times) — 01/21/26
TL;DR: AnswersNow closed a $40M Series B led by HealthQuest Capital to expand its virtual ABA platform, double clinical staff, and invest further in AI personalization, claiming clinically meaningful gains in six months using 4–5 therapy hours per week versus 30+ hours in traditional in-person ABA, with up to 75% cost savings for payors.