Moonwalk Biosciences closed an oversubscribed $70 million series B financing to develop first-in-class adipose-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.

The round 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.¹

Proceeds from the round will support advancements of Moonwalk's lead obesity candidate, MW101, into first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027 and expand the company's pipeline of tissue-targeted siRNA medicines and further advance its proprietary discovery platform.¹

How does Moonwalk's platform work?

Moonwalk's programs are designed to selectively deliver siRNA therapeutics directly to adipose tissue, enabling precise modulation of novel, non-incretin pathways underlying obesity.¹ The company combines human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery with proprietary tissue-targeting chemistry to unlock previously inaccessible biology, with the goal of developing first-in-class medicines with the potential for durable efficacy, preservation of lean muscle mass and infrequent dosing.¹

“The longer-term benefit of improving cardiovascular risk is a longer journey. As a plan sponsor, you may not see immediate savings on medical costs, reductions in heart attacks, strokes, and those kinds of events right away. But when you commit to the long-term benefit, that's when you'll see those cost savings materialize," Susan Thomas, chief commercial officer at LucyRx, told Pharmaceutical Executive.

The platform is built to enable highly specific modulation of adipose biology while minimizing effects on other tissues. Moonwalk exclusively licensed its adipose-targeting chemistry from Suzhou Siran Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for its first-in-class pipeline, which focuses on modulating pathways involved in energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, lipolysis and thermogenesis.¹

"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 chief executive officer 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."

Moonwalk was co-founded by Alex Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D., Arash Jamshidi, Ph.D., and Justin Valley, Ph.D., biotechnology leaders with decades of experience translating complex science into clinical products.² The company aims to develop effective, safe and durable epigenetic medicines that leverage what it describes as the most comprehensive insights on cellular epigenetics to date across a range of indications.²

What has preclinical data shown?

Across multiple preclinical studies, Moonwalk demonstrated reductions in both body weight and fat mass while still preserving lean muscle mass, and without reducing food intake.¹ The company has also generated translational evidence showing 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.¹

MW101 is expected to enter first-in-human clinical studies following completion of ongoing IND-enabling studies. In parallel, the company is advancing multiple additional tissue-targeted siRNA programs for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.¹

Who is joining the leadership team?

Alongside the financing, Moonwalk appointed Dr. Stephen Djedjos as senior vice president, clinical development, bringing more than 20 years of clinical and drug development experience.¹ Most recently, he served as senior vice president 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. He previously held senior clinical development roles at Mineralys Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Gilead Sciences and Amgen, where he contributed to the development and approval of Repatha.

Why does this financing matter?

"Obesity places an extraordinary physical and emotional burden on millions of people," said Alex Aravanis, chief executive officer and co-founder of 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."

Moonwalk's non-incretin approach positions it apart from the incretin-based therapies that currently dominate obesity treatment, including those Djedjos worked on prior to joining the company. With backing from a syndicate that includes Eli Lilly and Company alongside life sciences-focused investors Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures, Moonwalk is now positioned to move MW101 toward the clinic as it continues building out its broader pipeline of tissue-targeted RNAi medicines.

"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 at 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."

Sources

1. Moonwalk Biosciences Announces $70 Million Series B Financing to Advance Adipose-Targeted RNAi Therapies for Obesity and Cardiometabolic Diseases Moonwalk Biosciences September 8, 2026, https://moonwalk.bio/news/moonwalk-biosciences-announces-70-million-series-b-financing-to-advance-adipose-targeted-rnai-therapies-for-obesity-and-cardiometabolic-diseases/
2. Moonwalk Biosciences Launches with $57 Million in Financing to Advance a New Class of Precision Epigenetic Medicines Moonwalk Biosciences January 4, 2024, https://moonwalk.bio/news/moonwalk-biosciences-launches-with-57-million-in-financing-to-advance-a-new-class-of-precision-epigenetic-medicines/