Moonwalk Biosciences has raised an oversubscribed $70 million Series B financing to advance its pipeline of adipose-targeted RNA interference medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The round was co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Future Ventures.
Moonwalk plans to use the financing to advance its lead obesity candidate, MW101, into first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027, expand its pipeline of tissue-targeted siRNA medicines and further develop its proprietary discovery platform.
The company is developing therapies designed to deliver siRNA directly to adipose tissue and modulate non-incretin biological pathways involved in obesity.
Moonwalk combines human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery with proprietary tissue-targeting chemistry.
Its programs are designed to address pathways involved in energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, lipolysis and thermogenesis while limiting activity in other tissues.
The company exclusively licensed its adipose-targeting chemistry from Suzhou Siran Biotechnology Co. Ltd.
Moonwalk is aiming to develop obesity treatments with the potential for durable efficacy, preservation of lean muscle mass and infrequent dosing without relying on appetite suppression.
Across multiple preclinical studies, the company said it has demonstrated reductions in body weight and fat mass while preserving lean muscle without reducing food intake.
Moonwalk has also generated preclinical evidence showing favorable modulation of metabolic pathways associated with healthy adipose tissue remodeling.
In non-human primate studies, the company demonstrated durable adipose target engagement following a single dose, supporting the potential for quarterly or twice-yearly dosing.
MW101 is expected to begin first-in-human clinical trials in late 2027 after completion of ongoing IND-enabling studies.
The company is also advancing additional tissue-targeted siRNA programs for obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases.
Alongside the financing, Moonwalk appointed Dr. Stephen Djedjos as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development.
Djedjos brings more than 20 years of clinical and drug development experience.
He most recently served as Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development at Kailera Therapeutics, where he led development activities for incretin therapies targeting obesity and metabolic disease.
He previously held senior clinical development positions at Mineralys Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Gilead Sciences and Amgen, where he contributed to the development and approval of Repatha.
KEY QUOTES:
“Obesity places an extraordinary physical and emotional burden on millions of people,” said Alex Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D., CEO & Co-Founder, Moonwalk Biosciences. “This financing brings us closer to developing a new generation of adipose-targeted medicines designed to improve outcomes for people living with obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases.”
Alex Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D., CEO and Co-Founder of Moonwalk Biosciences
“Obesity is one of the most significant global health challenges, and Moonwalk is pursuing a fundamentally different approach to treating it,” said Rick Gerson, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Alpha Wave Global. “By targeting adipose tissue directly, Moonwalk may redefine how obesity is treated by delivering therapies with the potential for durable efficacy, lean muscle preservation and infrequent dosing.”
Rick Gerson, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Alpha Wave Global
“What stood out to us about Moonwalk is the depth of the science behind the platform and the strength of the preclinical evidence generated to date,” said Chris Dimitropoulos, Managing Director, Life Sciences Investments of Alpha Wave Global. “By combining adipose-selective RNAi delivery with human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery, the Moonwalk team has devised a highly precise way to modulate adipose biology.”
Chris Dimitropoulos, Managing Director, Life Sciences Investments at Alpha Wave Global
