Metsera Launches to Lead the Next Generation of Medicines for Obesity and Metabolic Diseases

Metsera, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company accelerating the next generation of medicines for obesity and metabolic diseases, announced its launch today. Founded by Population Health Partners and ARCH Venture Partners and led by former executives of The Medicines Company, Metsera is rapidly advancing a broad portfolio of oral and injectable incretin, non-incretin and combination therapies designed with best-in-class profiles to address multiple targets and meet the future needs of a rapidly evolving weight loss treatment landscape.

“Metsera was purpose-built over the last two years to get ahead of the innovation curve in one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the history of biopharma,” said Clive Meanwell, chief executive officer of Metsera. “We have assembled a portfolio of long-acting injectable and oral agents to address multiple next-generation weight loss goals. With a proven team of world experts across multiple company functions, leading healthcare investors and proprietary health technology tools, we are well-positioned to rapidly advance our clinical stage pipeline and create value for patients, health systems and investors.”

Metsera has raised $290 million in financing led by ARCH Venture Partners with participation from other leading healthcare investors including F-Prime Capital, GV, Mubadala Capital, Newpath Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and other undisclosed investors.

“We are in the early days of an incredibly exciting new era of innovation in weight loss and obesity-associated diseases,” said Kristina Burow, Metsera board member and managing director of ARCH Venture Partners. “Metsera’s portfolio is focused beyond the current generation of market leaders to address the full spectrum of future weight loss therapeutic needs, including effective weight maintenance, preserving muscle, less-frequent dosing, and better efficacy, tolerability and patient access.”

Advancing Broad Portfolio of Next-generation Weight Loss Medicines

Metsera’s portfolio of next-generation injectable and oral development programs is sourced from the company’s proprietary library of over 20,000 gut hormone peptides and peptide/antibody conjugates. Development programs include parallel strategies and are focused on multiple next-generation targets and combinations. These include:

• GLP-1 portfolio: led by an injectable, fully-biased GLP-1 receptor agonist in Phase 1 clinical trials with a potential class-leading duration of effect
• A dual amylin/calcitonin receptor agonist (DACRA) engineered for class-leading duration of effect which is being combined with the GLP-1 receptor agonist
• A unimolecular GGG (GLP-1, GIP, Glucagon) engineered for class-leading duration of effect and combination with DACRA
• An oral peptide delivery platform, including two IND-ready candidates with potential best-in-class bioavailability and multiple first-in-class oral follow-on candidates
• A range of other early-stage programs and delivery modalities

“Metsera’s portfolio is designed to unlock new treatment strategies through scalable, sustainable and personalized interventions for weight loss, weight maintenance and disease prevention,” said Sir Stephen R. Bloom, FMedSci, FRS, senior vice president of research and development at Metsera and head of drug development, metabolism, digestion and reproduction at Imperial College London. “Through optimized combinations of injectable and oral peptides, we aim to establish a cycle of continuous and responsive innovation to address a growing worldwide obesity crisis.”

About Metsera

Metsera is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company accelerating the next generation of medicines for obesity and metabolic diseases. Metsera is advancing a broad portfolio of oral and injectable incretin, non-incretin and combination therapies with potential best-in-class profiles to address multiple therapeutic targets and meet the future needs of a rapidly evolving weight loss treatment landscape. Founded in 2022 by Population Health Partners and ARCH Venture Partners, Metsera has raised $290 million in financing from leading healthcare investors and is based in New York City. For more information, please visit us at www.metsera.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

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Dan Budwick
1AB
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