Verdiva Bio Limited, a London-based biotechnology company, has launched a $411 million Series A financing round to develop innovative therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic disorders. The oversubscribed round was co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic, with participation from prominent healthcare investors, including RA Capital Management, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and LYFE Capital. This funding will advance the clinical development of existing assets and expand the company’s cardiometabolic portfolio.
Verdiva Bio’s launch amid market growth for anti-obesity medications (AOMs). In 2024, global spending on AOMs exceeded $30 billion for the first time, led by Novo Nordisk‘s semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and Eli Lilly‘s tripeptide (Mounjaro/Zepbound).
How Verdiva Bio develops better treatment options for people living with obesity
Founded by Khurem Farooq and former Aiolos Bio team members, Verdiva Bio focuses on creating improved obesity treatments. The company targets key challenges: developing oral therapies with less frequent dosing, enhancing treatment effectiveness and tolerability, and designing innovative combination therapies for sustainable weight management.
Khurem Farooq explains, “People living with obesity and its complications deserve better options at each stage of their treatment journey. These include oral therapies with less frequent dosing regimens, which have the potential for improved efficacy and tolerability, and innovative combination therapies for healthier weight loss and—equally importantly—maintenance of metabolically healthy weight. We created Verdiva Bio to accelerate the development of differentiated medicines that address these significant unmet medical needs.”
At the forefront of Verdiva’s pipeline is VRB-101, an oral GLP-1 peptide currently showing promising results in Phase 1 trials in Australia. The therapy demonstrates the potential for once-weekly dosing, which could offer a significant advantage over current injectable GLP-1 agonists. Additionally, the company is developing oral and subcutaneous amylin agonists designed to work independently or in combination with GLP-1 agonists.
Development plans and commercialisation of obesity treatments
In 2024, Verdiva acquired global development and commercialisation rights to its portfolio from Sciwind Biosciences (excluding Greater China and South Korea). The company will advance several next-generation therapies, including a Phase 2-ready, potential first-in-class, once-weekly oral GLP-1 receptor agonist; a potential first-in-class, once-weekly oral amylin agonist; and a long-acting, subcutaneous amylin agonist—all designed for use either alone or in combination.
Wouter Joustra, General Partner at Forbion, and Brett Zbar, Managing Director and Global Head of Life Sciences at General Atlantic, state: “With a proven leadership team, a pipeline of potential next-generation oral therapies, and a clear vision for tackling some of the most pressing global health challenges, we both believe Verdiva Bio is well-positioned to deliver groundbreaking innovations and advance these promising therapies through clinical development and beyond.”
While Ozempic has transformed obesity treatment, the future promises more practical, convenient, and personalised therapies. The obesity treatment community awaits Verdiva’s progress in clinical programs and commercial development, and we are watching to see if these oral and combination therapies can deliver more accessible and effective weight management solutions.
The post Ozempic’s rival Verdiva Bio lands $411M to advance next-gen obesity therapies appeared first on Tech Funding News.