Despite the competitive nature for funding in the crowded weight loss treatment space, Metsera has won $215m to advance its glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) orientated portfolio.
The funding, via a Series B raise, was led by Wellington Management and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners. New investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Janus Henderson Investors participated in the round, joining existing investors Arch Venture Partners, Alpha Wave Ventures, GV, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Newpath Partners, and SymBiosis, amongst others.
Whilst Metsera has not specifically said how the latest funds will be divvied up, it stated the Series B will further advance its portfolio. Founded in 2022, US-based Metsera emerged from stealth in April this year with a $290m raise, meaning the company now boasts over $500m in funding to its name. The biotech is making plays in a lucrative market, with GLP-1RA therapies forecast to bring in sales of $168bn across 68 pharmaceutical markets by 2033, according to analysis by GlobalData.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
MET-097i heads up the portfolio as the company’s lead GLP-1RA asset, which produced positive Phase I data last September. Patients on the 1.2mg dose had a 7.5% reduction in body weight over 36 days when taking the injection weekly. Metsera has now launched a 16-week Phase II trial of MET-097i in overweight and obese patients, with preliminary data expected in the first half of 2025. The company stated it is eyeing Phase III trials if the 16-week trial and an already ongoing 13-week randomised extension trial both produce successful data.
Metsera has also recently advanced two other pipeline candidates to the clinic. MET-233i is what Metsera calls “an ultra-long acting injectable” which could be administered monthly – a prized target for many pharma companies in the weight loss space. Alongside MET-233i, Metsera has an oral GLP-1RA drug called MET-002 which it plans to deploy alone or in combination with its other candidates.
Metsera’s CEO Whit Bernard said: “We now have three medicines in the clinic with more to come, based on a best-in-class half-life extension technology and a potential best-in-class oral peptide delivery platform. We look forward to continued acceleration of our pipeline.”
Already eying activities beyond clinical trials, Metsera signed a partnership deal with Amneal in October, focusing on the development and large-scale supply of weight loss medicines. As a result of the deal, Amneal will construct two new greenfield manufacturing facilities in India, one for peptide synthesis and one for sterile fill-finish manufacturing.
Novo Nordisk, maker of blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy (semaglutide), has set its sights on developing a treatment with less frequent dosing. The Danish drugmaker joined forces with Ascendis Pharma in a $285m deal earlier this month, with a once-monthly GLP-1RA at the top of the priority list.
