Dive Brief:
- Metsera, already a well-funded biotech startup, added another $215 million to its coffers as investors responded to the promise of its obesity drug pipeline.
- Wellington Management and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners led the latest round of financing, the company said Wednesday. New investors included “crossover” investors such as Fidelity Management & Research, Janus Henderson Investors and T. Rowe Price.
- The Series B financing brings the total raised for Metsera to more than $500 million. The company officially launched in April after raising $290 million in a financing led by Arch Venture Partners and Population Health Partners.
Dive Insight:
After Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly transformed the market for obesity treatment, a flood of drugmakers has jumped in with experimental medicines they hope might outperform Wegvoy and Zepbound. Metsera is looking to both improve on that class of drugs, known as GLP-1 inhibitors, as well as offer other options.
The company’s lead product is a long-acting GLP-1 drug known as MET-097i. In a Phase 1 trial, five weekly injections of the highest dose produced a 7.5% drop in body weight by day 36. At day 57, four weeks after the last dose, the weight loss total rose to 8.1%, suggesting the drug could be given monthly.
The initial trial is continuing with a 13-week extension and Metsera has started a separate Phase 2 study, with data expected in the first half of next year. The company said it will kick off Phase 3 research quickly if the first two studies are successful.
Metsera also has clinical trials underway for an injectable amylin analog called MET-233i and an oral GLP-1 peptide called MET-002. The company is studying the possibility of combining various experimental therapies as well, hoping to produce even better effects for patients.
On the manufacturing front, Metsera has already locked up a partner in Amneal Pharmaceuticals, which plans to build two new production facilities. The combination of a differentiated portfolio and scaled manufacturing is attractive for investors, Wellington Management executives said in the company’s statement.
The next six months promise a lot more information on the state of the obesity market, with multiple competitors slated to release data. In addition to studies of experimental drugs, Lilly is testing its Zepbound against Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in a head-to-head trial that may reshape prescriptions.
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- Source: https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/metsera-obesity-glp-1-series-b-wellington-venrock/732792/