Junevity has expanded its seed financing to $20 million following a new $10 million investment led by Goldcrest Capital and Godfrey Capital. The San Francisco-based biotechnology company is developing therapeutics that use siRNA to reprogram cell states, with its lead program targeting type 2 diabetes and obesity.
The additional funding will support IND enabling activities and advance the company’s lead candidate, JUN_01, into first-in-human studies expected to begin in the second half of 2026. According to the company, JUN_01 is the first known therapeutic candidate designed to reprogram metabolism using siRNA. Preclinical data cited by Junevity show reductions in blood glucose, improved insulin sensitivity, robust weight loss, maintenance of lean mass, and resistance to weight regain, enabled by an infrequent dosing regimen of once every six months.
JUN_01 targets a confidential transcription factor identified by Junevity’s RESET platform, which integrates human disease omics, genetic linkages, machine learning, and siRNA-based approaches to identify previously undruggable transcription factor targets. The company states that the target selected for JUN_01 regulates chronic metabolic dysfunction, insulin signaling and appetite.
Junevity’s scientific foundation is based on work from co-founder Dr. Janine Sengstack at UCSF, whose research demonstrated that repressing a single transcription factor can reset cellular state in human models. Junevity is expanding its early pipeline beyond metabolic disease to include programs in neurodegeneration and aims to apply siRNA reprogramming across primary tissues implicated in complex chronic diseases.
The company was founded in 2023 and is led by co-founder and CEO John Hoekman, who previously co-founded Impel Pharmaceuticals. The new financing marks a significant step for the young company as it moves toward clinical validation of its siRNA reprogramming approach.
KEY QUOTES
“JUN_01 offers a unique and promising combination of improved insulin sensitivity and weight loss, with dosing every six months. This profile could fill an important need for effective and tolerable long-term diabetes and weight management either alone or in combination with GLP-1s.”
John Bamforth, PhD, Former Chief Marketing Officer, Eli Lilly; Advisor to Junevity
“JUN_01 is a next-generation siRNA candidate for type 2 diabetes and obesity and the first cell reprogramming candidate with siRNA for metabolism. By reprogramming metabolic tissue to a healthy state, we see profound and durable benefits beyond today’s standard of care. We look forward to bringing this to patients in our initial clinical studies.”
John Hoekman, Co-Founder and CEO, Junevity
