Verdiva Bio, a New Clinical-Stage Cardiometabolic Company, Launches with Over $410M in Series A Financing to Advance Next-Generation Therapies

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 AND SAN FRANCISCO – January 9, 2024 – 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.

Contact Information

Verdiva Bio 

Tapan Maniar, CBO  
Peter MacBride, VP, Strategy & Communications

Melanie Toyne-Sewell
[email protected]  +44 7890 022 814

Vigo Consulting (Media)

Rozi Morris
+44 7740 859 962
[email protected]