Verdiva Bio launches with over $410 million in Series A financing to advance next-generation therapies
London and San Francisco, 9 January 2025 – 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 $411 million, 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. Farooq said:
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.
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
