A Cary company developing a new type of antidepressant and other experimental medicines has raised $9 million to continue research on its products.

CeNeRx BioPharma also used some of the money to buy the rights to an early stage compound that could be developed into treatments for degenerative nerve diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The economic downturn "allowed us to bring in a very exciting compound at a reasonable price," said CeNeRx CEO Barry Brand.