Moonwalk Biosciences Announces $70 Million Series B Financing to Advance Adipose-Targeted RNAi Therapies for Obesity and Cardiometabolic Diseases

Financing co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures and existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Future Ventures

Proceeds will advance Moonwalk's lead obesity program into the clinic and accelerate a pipeline of adipose-selective RNAi medicines targeting novel biology

Dr. Stephen Djedjos appointed Senior Vice President, Clinical Development

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moonwalk Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing first-in-class adipose-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, today announced the closing of an oversubscribed $70 million Series B financing.

The financing was co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, and existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Future Ventures. Proceeds will support advancement of Moonwalk's lead obesity candidate, MW101, into first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027, expand the Company's pipeline of tissue-targeted siRNA medicines and further advance its proprietary discovery platform.

Moonwalk's programs are designed to selectively deliver siRNA therapeutics directly to adipose tissue, enabling precise modulation of novel, non-incretin pathways underlying obesity. The Company's differentiated approach combines human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery with proprietary tissue-targeting chemistry to unlock previously inaccessible biology and develop first-in-class medicines with the potential for durable efficacy, preservation of lean muscle mass and infrequent dosing. The platform enables highly specific modulation of adipose biology while minimizing effects on other tissues. Moonwalk exclusively licensed the adipose-targeting chemistry from Suzhou Siran Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for its first-in-class pipeline, which focuses on modulating novel pathways involved in energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, lipolysis and thermogenesis.

“Obesity places an extraordinary physical and emotional burden on millions of people,” said Alex Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D., CEO & Co-Founder, Moonwalk Biosciences. “This financing brings us closer to developing a new generation of adipose-targeted medicines designed to improve outcomes for people living with obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases.”

“Obesity is one of the most significant global health challenges, and Moonwalk is pursuing a fundamentally different approach to treating it,” said Rick Gerson, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Alpha Wave Global. “By targeting adipose tissue directly, Moonwalk may redefine how obesity is treated by delivering therapies with the potential for durable efficacy, lean muscle preservation and infrequent dosing.”

“What stood out to us about Moonwalk is the depth of the science behind the platform and the strength of the preclinical evidence generated to date,” said Chris Dimitropoulos, Managing Director, Life Sciences Investments of Alpha Wave Global. “By combining adipose-selective RNAi delivery with human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery, the Moonwalk team has devised a highly precise way to modulate adipose biology.”

In addition to the financing, Dr. Stephen Djedjos has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development at Moonwalk, bringing more than 20 years of clinical and drug development experience. Most recently, he served as SVP and Head of Clinical Development at Kailera Therapeutics, where he led clinical development as the company advanced its incretin therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases. Previously, he held senior clinical development roles at Mineralys Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Gilead Sciences and Amgen, where he contributed to the development and approval of Repatha®. A physician and pediatric endocrinologist by training, Dr. Djedjos completed his fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Across multiple preclinical studies, Moonwalk has demonstrated robust reductions in body weight and fat mass while preserving lean muscle mass without reducing food intake. The Company has also generated translational evidence demonstrating favorable modulation of metabolic pathways consistent with healthy adipose remodeling. In non-human primate studies, Moonwalk demonstrated durable adipose target engagement following a single dose, supporting the potential for quarterly or twice-yearly dosing.

Moonwalk's lead development candidate, MW101, is expected to enter first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027 following completion of ongoing IND-enabling studies. In parallel, the Company is advancing multiple additional tissue-targeted siRNA programs for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.

About Moonwalk Biosciences

Moonwalk Biosciences is developing first-in-class adipose-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The Company's proprietary AI-enabled discovery platform integrates human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics with adipose-selective siRNA chemistry to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets involved in adipose biology, without affecting appetite. Moonwalk is advancing a pipeline of therapies designed to preserve lean mass, improve tolerability and enable infrequent dosing while addressing the underlying biology of obesity and metabolic disease. For more information, visit www.moonwalk.bio.