Company taps into Pfizer’s Boulder team as it targets obesity and metabolic disorders via incretins and other class B GPCRs.
Biotech startup Ambrosia Biosciences (no, not that Ambrosia) has emerged with a $16 million Series A financing to develop new treatments for obesity and metabolic disorders. While information on the company’s approach is limited, its initial plan is to “discover and develop novel orally delivered, small molecule-based therapies targeting incretins and other class B GPCRs.”
Incretins and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) play a central role in regulating metabolic processes, including glucose and energy balance, which are critical in the development and progression of obesity. Probably the most well-known class B GPCR is glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which has gained considerable attention for its role in weight management and diabetes prevention (and potentially many other conditions).
Following the success of drugs that inhibit GLP-1, such as semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy), Ambrosia appears to be the latest player to enter the GPCR arena.
“While this is a very active space, there is significant science yet to be understood and plenty of opportunity to improve upon existing GLP-1 based drugs,” said Nick Traggis, president and Founder of Ambrosia, in a statement.
The new funding was led by BVF Partners and Boulder Ventures and will be used to scale up Ambrosia’s drug discovery programs and laboratory operations in Colorado. The company appears to have taken advantage of the recent closure of Pfizer’s R&D facility in Boulder – the pharma giant moved into the city in 2019 when it acquired Array BioPharma but announced that it was shuttering its operations earlier this year.
“Array BioPharma was among the best small molecule drug discovery teams on the planet,” said Boulder Ventures’ Kyle Lefkoff, who also serves as executive chairman of Ambrosia. “With the recent shut down of the Pfizer/Array R&D facility here in Boulder, we have re-assembled the Array medicinal chemistry team at Ambrosia to apply that same expertise to obesity.”
