Copenhagen-based Ousia Pharma has successfully closed a significant seed financing round led exclusively by Omega Funds to advance its novel obesity treatment approach. The funding will support the development of the company's once-weekly, dual-incretin-NMDA receptor antagonist conjugate through preclinical and early clinical stages.
The biotech company, spun out from the University of Copenhagen in 2022, is pioneering a first-in-class drug-targeting approach that leverages incretin hormone analogues to deliver small-molecule neuroplasticity modulators directly to the brain's appetite control centers.
Novel Mechanism Addresses Limitations of Current Obesity Treatments
While GLP-1-based therapies have revolutionized obesity management, they face significant challenges including tolerability issues, variable weight loss responses, and weight regain after treatment cessation. Ousia's approach aims to overcome these limitations through a novel mechanism.
The company's technology is based on the discovery that NMDA receptor antagonism shows promise for sustained weight loss. By conjugating small-molecule modulators to incretin hormones, Ousia has developed a strategy to target specific neuronal populations involved in appetite control.
This pioneering work, published in Nature earlier this year (Petersen et al., 2024), originated in Associate Professor Christoffer Clemmensen's research lab at the University of Copenhagen. Clemmensen co-founded Ousia Pharma in 2022 alongside Anders B. Klein and Jonas Petersen, with initial pre-seed investments from the BioInnovation Institute in Copenhagen.
"The strong support from Omega Funds enables us to accelerate the preclinical and clinical validation of our peptide-drug conjugate program, bringing us closer to a transformative treatment for obesity," said Anders B. Klein, PhD, CEO of Ousia Pharma. "With a unique mechanism designed to enhance efficacy while addressing key challenges like tolerability, we believe our approach has the potential to set a new standard in obesity therapeutics."
Industry Veterans Join Board of Directors
As part of the financing, Ousia's board will be strengthened with the addition of three pharmaceutical industry leaders: Dr. Otello Stampacchia, Founder and Managing Director of Omega Funds; Prof. Sir Mene Pangalos, former Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca; and Dr. Elisabeth Björk, former Senior Vice President of Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolism R&D at AstraZeneca, who previously led the company's GLP-1 drug development efforts.
They will join existing board members Ian Laquian, CEO of Kariya Pharmaceuticals, and Christoffer Clemmensen, who serves as Ousia's Chief Scientific Officer while maintaining his position as Associate Professor within the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research.
Prof. Sir Mene Pangalos expressed strong confidence in Ousia's approach: "Having worked in the pharmaceutical industry for decades and witnessed many targets emerge and fade in the cardiometabolic space, I can confidently say that the approach taken by Ousia Pharma is one of the most innovative I have encountered."
Addressing a Critical Medical Need
Obesity affects over 650 million adults worldwide and is associated with numerous comorbidities including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Despite recent advances in pharmacological treatments, there remains significant room for improvement in efficacy, tolerability, and durability of response.
"Their novel dual-incretin-NMDA receptor antagonist conjugate represents a promising breakthrough in tackling several of the limitations of existing obesity treatments," said Otello Stampacchia of Omega Funds. "We believe Ousia's pioneering science and accomplished team position the company for meaningful impact and value creation."
Scientific Foundation and Future Development
Ousia's approach represents a significant innovation in targeted drug delivery to the central nervous system. By using incretin hormones as "targeting vehicles," the company can deliver NMDA receptor modulators specifically to neurons expressing GLP-1 receptors, potentially improving efficacy while reducing off-target effects.
The seed financing will support further development of this platform technology and advance the lead candidate through preclinical studies and into early clinical trials. The company has not disclosed the specific timeline for clinical development or the exact amount of the financing.
With obesity continuing to be a global health crisis and the market for effective treatments expanding rapidly, Ousia's novel approach could potentially address an important unmet need in metabolic disease management.
