Venture investors have long been energetic in supporting startups developing treatments for obesity and weight reduction, and they have done well in the GLP-1 era. Of course, it helps that big profits also occur.
Example: Three-year-old Mesermaker of oral and injectable weight reduction drugs, just accomplished one of the largest mergers and acquisitions in the industry to date. In the contract with Pfizer announced late last week, the pharmaceutical giant has agreed to pay the New York-based company up to $10 billion following a contentious bidding war with its rival New Nordisk.1
The planned purchase comes just nine months after Metsera’s purchase Nasdaq debut. Last yr alone, the company also disclosed over $500 million in enterprise funding Arch Venture Partners as its largest stakeholder.2
Financing projects related to obesity and weight control
Metsera is one of several corporations that have raised significant enterprise funding over the past few years with a focus on anti-obesity and weight management. To get a broader picture of investment direction, we used Crunchbase data assemble a sample list of 17 such startups funded in the last few years or so.
It’s a biotech-heavy list that reflects a shift away from pre-GLP-1 considering that obesity can only be reduced through weight-reduction plan, exercise and willpower. Currently, nearly 12% of U.S. adults were using GLP-1 weight reduction medications as of August Edge report. Another 14% said they were interested in using these drugs.
However, start-up investors imagine that there is even more innovation ahead. To this end, they are supporting some pretty large rounds.
The largest recipients of financing
The largest round of financing for a company on our list is also one of the newest. Kailera Terapeutycznadeveloper of injectable and oral GLP-1 therapies for obesity, closed $600 million in Series B financing last month. The company, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego, also recently announced positive clinical trial results results for obesity patients in China.
Based in London Bio Verdivacreator of GLP-1 therapy for cardiometabolic diseases, is one other VC favorite. The company launched out of stealth in January Series A financing value $411 million hosted by Forbion capital partners AND General of the Atlantic.
Not everyone who raises a big round is on the GLP-1 circuit. Based in Boston Bio Syntiswho received A Series A for $33 million this summer, he is developing oral therapies that harness the therapeutic potential of the small intestine to treat a variety of conditions, including obesity. AND Helicore Biopharma secured In January, $65 million to further develop a class of therapies based on GIPor gastric inhibitory polypeptide, antagonists of obesity and related conditions.
Exits too
We’ve also seen some big exits over the last few years.
On the IPO front BioAge Laboratorieswhich claims to “leverage the biology of human aging” to develop recent therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases, went public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange just over a yr ago after raising more than $290 million in enterprise financing. It has not performed well so far, with share prices well below the initial offering price.
When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, Versani biographya startup developing drugs to treat obesity achieved one of the most significant results in this field two years ago: Eli Lilly agreed to buy the company in a deal value up to $1.9 billion.
We recently saw a unicorn acquire a startup in the space with a manufacturer of well-being monitoring rings Our buying Datacreator of metabolic health tracking tools for an undisclosed amount.
Promising times
Overall, these are promising times for those that have long struggled with obesity and the discomfort of diet-induced hunger pangs or difficulty maintaining their desired weight range.
That said, there is room for improvement. For example, about half of GLP-1 users surveyed by Rand said they experienced nausea as a side effect, while about a third reported diarrhea.
Personally, I’m still waiting for the ultimate metabolic miracle. Ideally, this might allow the user to eat unlimited amounts of junk food, refrain from vigorous exercise, and avoid gaining weight or experiencing unpleasant unwanted side effects. For now, it seems unlikely that venture-backed startups will pursue this particular vision.