A MedTech is launching to tackle obesity and associated cardiometabolic disorders after raising £334 million in Series A financing.
Verdiva Bio, based in London, says it is developing a broad range of oral and injectable treatments to help with weight loss.
Khurem Farooq, formerly the CEO of Aiolos Bio and Gyroscope Therapeutics, will serve as CEO, leading an experienced team of drug developers and BioTech company builders.
The round was co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic, with additional participation from RA Capital Management, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures and LYFE Capital.
“People living with obesity and its complications deserve better options at each stage of their treatment journey, including oral therapies with less frequent dosing regimens, the potential for improved efficacy and tolerability, and innovative combination therapies in pursuit of healthier weight loss and, equally importantly, maintenance of metabolically healthy weight,” said Farooq.
“We created Verdiva Bio to accelerate the development of differentiated medicines that address these significant unmet medical needs.
“Our most mature program has the potential to be a first-in-class, once-weekly oral treatment for obesity and weight loss maintenance that could dramatically improve patient access and affordability.”
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Dr Mohamed Eid, MD, joins Verdiva Bio as chief medical officer from Boehringer Ingelheim, where he was head of clinical development and medical affairs for cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic medicines in the US.
Previously, Dr Eid held senior clinical, medical, and regulatory roles at Novo Nordisk.
“We are excited by the potential of our innovative, investigational medicines,” he said. “These programs represent next-generation potential against multiple targets and are anticipated to improve treatment adherence and offer a more sustainable solution for maintaining weight loss.
“Furthermore, by applying our clinically validated, oral delivery technology, we are confident that we can deliver highly efficacious and well tolerated therapies at markedly lower doses.”
Further appointments include chief scientific officer Dr Jane Hughes, formerly CSO of Aiolos Bio and Gyroscope Therapeutics; chief business officer Dr Tapan Maniar, formerly CBO of Aiolos Bio and principal at Bain Capital Life Sciences; and CTO Ashley Taylor, formerly CTO of Aiolos Bio and head of network strategy at Roche/Genentech.
Mark Pruzanski has been named chairman of the board. A physician and entrepreneur with over 30 years of life sciences experience, Dr. Pruzanski previously served as chairman and CEO of Versanis Bio (acquired by Eli Lilly) and was the founder and CEO of Intercept Pharmaceuticals.