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Orbis Medicines, a Copenhagen-based startup, has secured €90 million ($93.4 million) in Series A funding to develop oral peptide drugs. The funding round was led by New Enterprise Associates and included notable investment from pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. Peptide-based medications like Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound are commonly used for metabolic disorders, but are typically administered by injection due to their vulnerability in the gut’s digestive environment.
Orbis is working on transforming these into oral treatments using its proprietary technology, nGen, which can synthesize and analyze up to 100,000 distinct macrocyclic peptides quickly. Macrocycles are peptides formed into a circular shape, making them more stable and effective for oral dosing. Orbis’s macrocycles, branded as nCycles, are designed to be smaller, cell-permeable, and scalable.
These innovative compounds show promise for targeting disease mechanisms both inside and outside of cells. Christian Heinis, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, co-founded Orbis Medicines based on his extensive research.
The startup, founded in 2021 by Novo Holdings, is poised to make significant strides in drug development with this new influx of capital. In addition to Eli Lilly, other investors in the funding round include Cormorant and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark. Existing investors Novo Holdings and Forbion also participated.
Orbis also announced the appointment of Graugaard Døssing as its new CEO. Døssing has been with Orbis since its inception, serving as executive chair of the board for the past three years. He brings a wealth of experience and leadership to guide Orbis through this critical phase of growth.
With this robust financial backing and leadership in place, Orbis Medicines is well-positioned to advance its mission of making peptide drugs accessible in oral form. This has the potential to revolutionize the biotech industry and offer new hope for patients reliant on peptide-based therapies.
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