BioAge Announces $170 Million Oversubscribed Series D Financing to Accelerate Development of Obesity and Metabolic Disease Therapeutics
- Funding to advance Phase 2 clinical trials of azelaprag, an apelin receptor (APJ) agonist, in combination with Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) and therapeutic pipeline
- Azelaprag improves metabolic and muscle function and has potential as an oral drug to significantly increase weight loss and improve body composition in patients on GLP-1/incretin therapy
- James Healy, M.D., Ph.D., Managing Partner at Sofinnova Investments appointed as Chairman of the Board; Patrick Enright of Longitude Capital joins the Board of Directors of BioAge
BioAge Labs (“BioAge”), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases by harnessing the biology of aging, announced today the completion of an oversubscribed Series D financing round of $170 million led by Sofinnova Investments. New investors including Longitude Capital, RA Capital, Cormorant Asset Management, RTW Investments, SV Health Investors, OrbiMed Advisors, Sands Capital, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Osage University Partners, Lilly Ventures, and Amgen Ventures also participated in the round alongside existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health.
In connection with the financing, James Healy, M.D., Ph.D., managing partner at Sofinnova Investments, will join BioAge as Chairman of the Board, and Patrick Enright, managing director at Longitude Capital, will join as Board Director.
The funding will be used to support Phase 2 clinical development of BioAge’s lead compound azelaprag, an oral apelin receptor agonist, in combination with Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) and other incretins for treatment of obesity. The studies with Zepbound are expected to begin in mid-2024, in collaboration with Eli Lilly’s Chorus organization. Azelaprag is an oral drug with the potential to significantly increase weight loss and improve body composition when combined with any incretin. In a Phase 1b trial, azelaprag promoted muscle metabolism, increased energy expenditure, and prevented muscle atrophy in healthy older volunteers at bedrest. In preclinical studies, azelaprag doubled the weight loss achieved on incretin drugs with improvements in body composition and muscle function.
“We’re thrilled to partner with a top-tier syndicate of investors and pharma companies at the forefront of developing novel therapeutics for metabolic diseases,” said Kristen Fortney, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of BioAge. “This funding will support us through key clinical milestones and data readouts for our lead compound azelaprag in obesity, as well as advance our earlier-stage metabolic aging pipeline. The azelaprag program highlights our discovery platform’s ability to identify novel approaches to treating metabolic disease.”
“We’re excited to support BioAge’s commitment to develop potentially life-changing therapies that improve patient lives in obesity and other metabolic diseases,” said Dr. Healy. “The BioAge management team has laid very important scientific and clinical groundwork for the azelaprag program, and we look forward to working with the team to advance its clinical programs.”
