- Co-founded by Khurem Farooq and former members of Aiolos Bio team to develop broad portfolio of oral and injectable treatments for obesity, cardiometabolic disorders, and related complications
- Forbion played an instrumental role in the company’s creation as a founding investor
- Financing marks first investment from the Forbion Growth Opportunities III fund
Naarden - The Netherlands – 09, January, 2025 – Forbion, a leading life sciences venture capital firm with deep expertise in Europe, today announces that is has co-led a $411 million Series A financing, alongside General Atlantic, in Verdiva Bio (“Verdiva”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for obesity and other cardiometabolic disorders.
Verdiva is advancing a portfolio of next-generation oral and injectable treatments, including potential once-weekly oral GLP-1 and oral amylin therapies for weight loss and maintenance. “In close collaboration with Khurem and the team, Forbion played an instrumental role in the company’s creation as a founding investor and we are thrilled to co-lead Verdiva Bio’s Series A financing and support its mission of transforming lives by accelerating innovation in cardiometabolic health,” said Wouter Joustra, General Partner at Forbion. “With a proven leadership team, a pipeline of next-generation oral therapies, and a clear vision for tackling some of the most pressing global health challenges, Verdiva Bio is well-positioned to deliver groundbreaking innovations.”
Khurem Farooq, previously CEO of Forbion portfolio companies Aiolos Bio and Gyroscope Therapeutics, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Verdiva, leading an experienced team of drug developers and biotech company builders.
People living with obesity and its complications deserve better options at each stage of their treatment journey, including oral therapies with less frequent dosing regimens, the potential for improved efficacy and tolerability, and innovative combination therapies in pursuit of healthier weight loss and, equally importantly, maintenance of metabolically healthy weight. We created Verdiva Bio to accelerate the development of differentiated medicines that address these significant unmet medical needs.
Farooq
This is Forbion’s first investment from its Growth Opportunities III fund. In October 2024 Forbion announced its largest fundraising to date, of over €2 billion ($2.2 billion) across two new funds, Forbion Growth Opportunities III and Forbion Ventures VII, to enable an increase in both the number of investments and the average size of Forbion’s participation in portfolio company financings, reflecting the opportunities it sees for superior returns in life sciences companies.
For further information on Verdiva, see the company’s announcement here.