SixPeaks Bio has emerged from stealth status with its pipeline of therapies for healthy weight loss. Headquartered at Tech Park Basel, the company has secured an investment of 30 million US dollars in Series A financing led by its Basel-based founding investor Versant Ventures, in addition to agreeing a strategic partnership with the London-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which will provide additional, non-dilutive financing of up to 80 million US dollars over the next two years. During this period, AstraZeneca will also have exclusive rights to acquire SixPeaks. The company’s development capacities and commitment to this sector has made AstraZeneca “our partner of choice”, as Philip Larsen, CEO of SixPeaks, explains in a press release.

Great potential for innovative therapies

SixPeaks was founded in 2022 by Ridgeline, the discovery engine of the venture capital firm Versant Ventures. With Ridgeline, SixPeaks developed an activin receptor IIA/B antibody for the robust preservation of skeletal muscle mass in humans. This helps to counteract a loss of muscle mass in GLP-1-based therapies, which have proven to be effective in combating obesity and associated comorbidities.

SixPeaks has conjugated its activin receptor IIA/B antibody with a GLP-1 peptide, thereby creating a therapy that allows obese people to lose weight while preserving muscle mass. “Based on our progress over the past 24 months as a stealth company, we believe this pipeline has the potential to produce a new wave of innovative therapies”, comments Alex Mayweg, Managing Director at Versant and Chair of the Board of Directors at SixPeaks.