Rivus Pharmaceuticals has raised $132m in a Series B funding round to clinically advance its lead candidate, HU6, for the treatment of obesity and cardio-metabolic disorders.

RA Capital Management led the financing round, which also saw participation from Bain Capital Life Sciences and BB Biotech.

Existing investors of the company, including Longitude Capital, Medicxi and RxCapital, also took part in the round.

A controlled metabolic accelerator (CMA), HU6 can treat cardio-metabolic ailments by addressing obesity, which is a key driver of the diseases.

The CMAs of the company can lower fat throughout the body through mitochondrial uncoupling, a natural process that causes energy regulation.

Rivus previously reported findings from an eight-week Phase IIa metabolic study in obese subjects.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The data established proof of concept that CMAs could potentially treat obesity and various cardio-metabolic ailments, including heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and type 2 diabetes.

In the trial, HU6 treatment also led to a substantial decline in liver, visceral and total body fat while preserving skeletal muscle mass.

A Phase IIa trial was recently launched that enrolled obese subjects with HFpEF while a Phase IIb trial in obesity, including a subset of obese subjects with type 2 diabetes, is planned to begin next year.

Rivus Pharmaceuticals president and CEO Allen Cunningham said: “We have an exceptional group of investors who share our vision for bringing a new class of treatments to patients with obesity and cardio-metabolic disease. 

“Following encouraging data from our Phase IIa clinical trial in patients with obesity, this financing enables us to advance development of HU6 and a pipeline of controlled metabolic accelerators to address a range of cardio-metabolic conditions.”