- Developing a broad portfolio of oral and injectable treatments with best-in-class potential to treat obesity, cardiometabolic disorders, and related complications
- Groundbreaking potential of once-weekly oral GLP-1 and oral amylin therapies for weight loss and maintenance
- Differentiated and clinically validated proprietary oral delivery technology designed to enable patient-friendly dosing, greater scalability, and broader patient access
- Co-founded by Khurem Farooq and former members of the Aiolos Bio team with Mr. Farooq named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Mark Pruzanski named Chairman of the Board
- Financing co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic, with participation from RA Capital Management, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and LYFE Capital
LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Verdiva Bio Limited (“Verdiva” or “the Company”) today announced its launch as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for obesity and other cardiometabolic disorders. The Company is advancing a portfolio of next-generation oral and injectable treatments with first-in-class or best-in-class potential. Verdiva launches with an oversubscribed Series A financing of $411M, co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic, with additional participation from RA Capital Management, OrbiMed, Logos Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, and LYFE Capital (collectively, “the Investor Group”).
Khurem Farooq, formerly the CEO of Aiolos Bio and Gyroscope Therapeutics, will serve as Chief Executive Officer leading an experienced team of drug developers and biotech company builders. “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. We created Verdiva Bio to accelerate the development of differentiated medicines that address these significant unmet medical needs,” said Farooq.
Addressing Verdiva’s lead asset, Farooq noted, “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.”
Developing a broad portfolio of oral and injectable treatments
Verdiva acquired global development and commercialization rights outside of greater China and South Korea to their industry-leading portfolio from Sciwind Biosciences in 2024. Verdiva plans to advance the development of these next-generation therapies via a mix of monotherapy and combination programs, 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 for use as monotherapy or in combination with an oral GLP-1 agonist
- A long-acting, subcutaneous amylin agonist for use as monotherapy or in combination with a proprietary GLP-1 peptide
Senior leadership team
Dr. Mohamed Eid, MD, MSc, MHA 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.
Dr. Eid notes, “We are excited by the potential of our innovative, investigational medicines. 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.”
In addition, the Company announced the appointment of several other leadership positions, including:
- Dr. Jane Hughes, Chief Scientific Officer, formerly CSO of Aiolos Bio and Gyroscope Therapeutics
- Dr. Tapan Maniar, Chief Business Officer, formerly CBO of Aiolos Bio and Principal at Bain Capital Life Sciences
- Ashley Taylor, Chief Technology Officer, formerly CTO of Aiolos Bio and Head of Network Strategy at Roche/Genentech
In conjunction with the Company’s launch, Mark Pruzanski was 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.
“This significant Series A financing will be used to progress the clinical development of our existing assets as well as to expand our industry-leading cardiometabolic portfolio, and we are grateful to this top-tier investor syndicate for their support,” said Dr. Pruzanski.
Substantial Series A financing
The Series A financing was co-led by Forbion and General Atlantic. “We are thrilled to co-lead Verdiva’s Series A financing and support its mission of transforming lives by accelerating innovation in cardiometabolic health,” said Wouter Joustra, General Partner at Forbion, and Brett Zbar, Managing Director and Global Head of Life Sciences at General Atlantic. “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.”
About Verdiva Bio
Verdiva Bio is committed to developing next-generation therapies to help people living with obesity, cardiometabolic disorders, and related complications achieve better outcomes via more patient-friendly therapeutic options. Verdiva’s most advanced therapy is VRB-101, an oral GLP-1 peptide in clinical development that has demonstrated best-in-class efficacy potential in a phase 1 study in Australia, which also confirmed the viability of once-weekly dosing. The Company is also developing a portfolio of amylin molecules, including oral and subcutaneous agonists, and other undisclosed programs that offer the potential for enhanced efficacy, improved tolerability, and healthier weight loss. The Verdiva team will harness the emerging science in gut-brain biology and leverage their history of successful drug development to advance novel therapeutic options aiming to transform the lives of millions living with obesity worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.verdivabio.com.
Contacts
Verdiva Bio
Tapan Maniar, CBO
Peter MacBride, VP, Strategy & Communications
Vigo Consulting (Media)
Melanie Toyne-Sewell
+44 7890 022 814
Rozi Morris
+44 7740 859 962
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