What Verdiva Bio does

Verdiva Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in London, UK, focused on developing rationally engineered peptide therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The company was launched in January 2025 with a $410M+ Series A financing — reported as the largest UK/EU Series A at the time — led by Forbion with participation from General Atlantic, RA Capital, OrbiMed, Logos, Lilly Asia Ventures, and LYFE Capital. Its pipeline is anchored by VRB-101 (oral ecnoglutide), a GLP-1 analog being evaluated in the EVOLVE-2 Phase 2b trial in adults with obesity, and is broadened by VRB-102 (injectable amylin), VRB-103 (oral amylin), and VRB-104 (a GLP-1/amylin co-agonist).

The company's core technology combines licensed global rights (ex-Greater China) to ecnoglutide from Sciwind Biosciences with its proprietary T2026 oral absorption enhancer, which is designed to enable oral delivery of peptide therapeutics that are otherwise limited to injectable administration. This positions Verdiva to compete in the rapidly growing obesity therapeutics market, where current standard-of-care options (e.g., semaglutide, tirzepatide) are predominantly injectable. The Sciwind licensing agreement, valued at up to $2.4B in milestones plus royalties, provides a non-dilutive capital pathway and a parallel development track in China while Verdiva executes US- and ex-China-focused clinical development.

Verdiva Bio is pre-revenue with no approved or marketed products. Its business model is centered on advancing its pipeline through clinical development toward either commercialization or future partnership/transaction events, with near-term value creation driven by clinical readouts (notably the EVOLVE-2 Phase 2b data) and pipeline progression. Leadership is led by CEO Khurem Farooq, whose prior companies Aiolos Bio and Gyroscope Therapeutics were both acquired by large pharmaceutical companies, and the broader team draws from Genentech, GSK, and Novo Nordisk. The company was named to the 2025 Fierce Biotech Fierce 15 list, reflecting third-party recognition in a highly competitive therapeutic category.

Name

Verdiva Bio

Legal name

Verdiva Bio Limited

Website

https://verdivabio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Verdiva Bio is a clinical-stage UK biopharmaceutical company developing rationally engineered oral and injectable peptide therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic disease, with lead asset VRB-101 (oral ecnoglutide) in Phase 2 and a broader amylin pipeline enabled by its proprietary T2026 oral absorption enhancer.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cardiometabolic Biopharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (3254), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Cardiometabolic Pharmaceuticals (Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Obesity) (HLAIAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cardiology & Vascular Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAG)

Keywords

• Obesity therapeutics
• Cardiometabolic drug development
• Peptide drug candidates
• GLP-1 receptor agonists
• Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Pre-revenue Clinical Development: Clinical-stage biotech company with no products currently approved or marketed. No recurring revenue. Future revenue expected from out-licensing arrangements and/or commercialization of cardiometabolic pipeline assets.
2. Licensing Agreement with Sciwind Biosciences: Global licensing agreement with Sciwind Biosciences valued at up to $2.4 billion for worldwide development of ecnoglutide and amylin candidates (VRB-101, VRB-103, VRB-104). Includes upfront, milestones, and potential royalties.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Core offering

Verdiva Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing rationally engineered peptide drug candidates for obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases. Its pipeline centers on oral and injectable once-weekly therapies, anchored by lead program VRB-101 (oral ecnoglutide, a cAMP-biased GLP-1 peptide analog in Phase 2) and an amylin-based portfolio (VRB-103, VRB-102, VRB-104), enabled by the proprietary T2026 oral absorption enhancer.

Product overview

Verdiva Bio is a clinical-stage cardiometabolic biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of rationally engineered peptide drug candidates for obesity and related metabolic diseases, rather than a single unified product. The portfolio is anchored by the lead oral GLP-1 program VRB-101 (an oral formulation of ecnoglutide, a cAMP-biased GLP-1 peptide analog, in Phase 2 development using the proprietary oral absorption enhancer T2026) and expanded by an amylin franchise comprising the oral selective amylin analog VRB-103, the injectable amylin analog VRB-102 (intended for co-formulation with incretins such as VRB-101), and the unimolecular GLP-1/amylin co-agonist VRB-104. The named products are organized as distinct monotherapy and combination product candidates (for example, the once-weekly oral combination VRB-101 + VRB-103 and the injectable combination VRB-101 + VRB-102) that share common peptide-engineering and formulation science to enable both oral and injectable once-weekly dosing formats.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VRB-101 (Oral Ecnoglutide) Oral formulation of ecnoglutide, a cAMP-biased GLP-1 peptide analog in clinical development as a once-weekly treatment of obesity; enabled by the proprietary T2026 oral absorption enhancer and licensed from Sciwind Biosciences for worldwide development.
• VRB-103 (Oral Amylin Analog) Oral, selective amylin analog in preclinical development as a once-weekly treatment of obesity, designed for use as monotherapy or in combination with oral GLP-1 therapy.
• VRB-101 + VRB-103 (Oral Combination) Once-weekly oral combination therapy pairing the GLP-1 analog VRB-101 with the selective amylin analog VRB-103, being evaluated as a once-weekly therapy for the treatment of obesity.
• VRB-101 + VRB-102 (Injectable Combination) Injectable combination in which VRB-102, an amylin analog in preclinical development, is designed for co-formulation with incretins such as VRB-101 and for once-weekly injection to treat obesity.
• VRB-104 (Injectable GLP-1/Amylin Co-agonist) Investigational unimolecular GLP-1 plus amylin co-agonist in preclinical development as a once-weekly injectable therapy for obesity; preclinical data showed 14% body weight loss over 14 days in a diet-induced obesity model versus 1% weight gain for vehicle.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Structure Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing oral small-molecule and peptide GLP-1 agonists for obesity and cardiometabolic disease, including an oral once-daily GLP-1 in Phase 2. Most directly comparable peer to Verdiva's VRB-101 oral GLP-101 strategy.
• Metsera: Emerging clinical-stage obesity biotech developing oral and injectable peptide-based incretin and amylin analogs. Closely comparable to Verdiva in modality (oral peptides), mechanism (GLP-1/amylin), and obesity focus.
• Kailera Therapeutics: Obesity-focused biotech with a pipeline of injectable and oral GLP-1/amylin-based candidates. Directly comparable to Verdiva's combination amylin strategy and obesity-only positioning.
• Terns Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage biotech developing oral GLP-1 receptor agonists for obesity alongside an oncology pipeline. Closely tied to the Sciwind Biosciences ecosystem (founded by Verdiva CSO Weidong Zhong) and a direct peer in oral GLP-1 development.

Emerging players

• Sciwind Biosciences: China-based originator of ecnoglutide and the amylin candidates in-licensed by Verdiva. Comparable technology platform for oral peptide biologics and a key upstream licensor rather than a direct commercial competitor.
• Rivus Pharmaceuticals: Clinical-stage cardiometabolic biotech developing controlled metabolic accelerators (HU6) for obesity and related metabolic disease. Comparable as a focused cardiometabolic/obesity clinical-stage peer with novel mechanism positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Dominant incumbent in obesity and cardiometabolic with Mounjaro/Zepbound (tirzepatide), retatrutide, and oral orforglipron in late-stage development. Defines the competitive benchmark Verdiva must beat on efficacy, tolerability, and convenience.
• Novo Nordisk: Global incumbent in obesity and diabetes with Wegovy/Ozempic (semaglutide) and an advancing oral semaglutide program. Sets the standard of care against which Verdiva's VRB-101 oral GLP-1 will be evaluated.
• Pfizer: Major pharmaceutical incumbent that re-entered the obesity space with danuglipron and has actively pursued oral GLP-1 development. Represents one of the strategic-acquisition or partnership counterparties Verdiva may eventually face.
• Boehringer Ingelheim: Large pharmaceutical incumbent with a cardiometabolic franchise spanning diabetes, kidney, and obesity (including a survodutide collaboration with Zealand Pharma). Relevant incumbent peer and a potential strategic partner given CMO Mohamed Eid's prior tenure there.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verdivabio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors7 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Verdiva Bio