SixPeaks Bio Emerges from Stealth Mode with $110 Million in Funding

SixPeaks Bio has secured $30 million in Series A financing led by founding investor Versant Ventures and a strategic collaboration with AstraZeneca.

The agreement with AstraZeneca will provide additional, non-dilutive financing of up to $80 million over the next two years, and AstraZeneca also has exclusive rights to acquire SixPeaks during this period.

SixPeaks was founded in 2022 at Versant’s Ridgeline Discovery Engine in the Basel Technology Park with the goal of developing improved therapies for healthy weight loss. GLP-1-based weight loss therapies can result in patients losing muscle mass in addition to reductions in body fat, with the decrease in muscle accounting for up to 40% of the weight loss derived from these medicines. Consequently, this can limit the long-term utility of these agents. SixPeaks’ lead molecules show potentially best-in-class efficacy for muscle mass preservation both as a single agent and when combined with GLP-1 agonists.

“With the number of people living with both cardiometabolic conditions and obesity today already over one billion, there is a need for continued innovation and next generation therapeutic options,” said Sharon Barr, the EVP of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca. “This agreement augments our existing weight management programs, and we look forward to working in collaboration with SixPeaks to advance the lead antibody as a potential novel therapeutic option.”

SixPeaks is led by CEO Philip Larsen who previously served as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research at Bayer Pharmaceuticals, joining the company in July 2019. Before Bayer, Dr. Larsen was the Chief Scientific Officer at Grünenthal and also held the same position at Sanofi’s German Hub. With 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, Dr. Larsen specializes in diabetes and obesity.

“We are proud to debut SixPeaks, which has developed a pipeline of impactful future medicines for healthy weight loss,” said Mr. Larsen. “In addition, we are very excited to be working with AstraZeneca, whose development capabilities and commitment to this space made them our partner of choice.”

“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,” said Alex Mayweg, a managing director at Versant and the chairman of SixPeaks’ board of directors. “It is gratifying to be an early mover in creating the next generation of life-changing medicines for cardiometabolic diseases.”

Versant Ventures invests in biotechnology companies that are discovering and developing novel therapeutics. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, more than 100 Versant-backed companies have achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs. The San Francisco-headquartered firm has $5.5 billion under management and with additional offices in New York City, San Diego, Toronto, Vancouver, and Basel.

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of prescription medicines particularly in the oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism, and respiratory sectors. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and has more than 76,000 worldwide employees.