What i2o Therapeutics does

i2o Therapeutics is a U.S.-based, privately held biopharmaceutical company founded in 2019 and headquartered in Allston, Massachusetts. According to its corporate description, i2o develops "safe and effective oral formulations of therapies," with a therapeutic focus on obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases. The company positions itself around next-generation biologics and peptides, with a stated pipeline comprising two long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists, two long-acting amylin dual amylin-calcitonin receptor agonists (DACRAs), a long-acting PYY receptor agonist, and a long-acting glucagon receptor agonist.

The company's core technology is a peptide biologics platform targeting the GLP-1, amylin, PYY, and glucagon receptor pathways — multiple complementary mechanisms relevant to obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic conditions. Pipeline assets are described as "long-acting," implying engineering work on half-life extension, and the broader platform framing ("next-generation biologics & peptides") suggests the company is pursuing differentiated molecular designs rather than me-too reformulations. In August 2023 the company acquired a diabetes-related asset from Intarcia Therapeutics that had previously been rejected by a competitor, expanding its pipeline footprint via in-licensing.

i2o Therapeutics is a development-stage company with no approved products, no disclosed revenue, and no commercial pricing model. The company has raised approximately $90 million across multiple rounds since 2019, including a $46 million Series A in August 2023 led with Viva BioInnovator participation, and earlier seed capital from JDRF T1D Fund, Sanofi Ventures, and Cerity Partners Ventures. Its go-to-market is not yet defined because no product has reached commercialization; the customer base is therefore patients and payers in obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic end markets, accessible only through future regulatory approval and either partnership or self-commercialization. The company is led by Chairman, President, and CEO Kurt Graves, with co-founder Samir Mitragotri (a recognized academic in drug delivery and biologics) remaining associated with the company.

Name

i2o Therapeutics

Legal name

i2o Therapeutics, Inc.

Website

https://i2obio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

i2o Therapeutics is a privately held, U.S.-based biotech founded in 2019 that develops next-generation oral peptide biologics — including long-acting GLP-1, amylin, PYY, and glucagon receptor agonists — targeting obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biopharmaceuticals (Metabolic Disease Therapeutics)

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cardiometabolic Pharmaceuticals (Cardiovascular/Diabetes/Obesity) (HLAIAAAE), Endocrinology & Metabolic Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAD)

Keywords

• Oral biologics therapeutics
• GLP-1 receptor agonists
• Obesity therapeutics pipeline
• Metabolic disease peptides
• Long-acting amylin agonists

Headquarters

HQ city

Allston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Core offering

i2o Therapeutics develops a pipeline of next-generation long-acting biologics and peptide drug candidates for the treatment of obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases. Its portfolio targets multiple mechanisms (GLP-1, amylin, PYY, glucagon) with assets in development for combination therapy. The company also holds a diabetes asset acquired from a competitor and is positioned to advance these programs through clinical development.

Product overview

i2o Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation biologics and peptides, with a focus on GLP-1 combinations for obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases. The company's pipeline includes 2 Long-Acting GLP-1 Receptor Agonists, 2 Long-Acting Amylin DACRAs, a Long-Acting PYY Receptor Agonist, and a Long-Acting Glucagon Receptor Agonist. These pipeline assets target the treatment of obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases through multiple complementary mechanisms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Long-Acting GLP-1 Receptor Agonists (x2) Two long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists in the company's pipeline targeting obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases, intended for combination therapy and improved treatment of metabolic conditions.
• Long-Acting Amylin DACRAs (x2) Two long-acting amylin dual amylin-calcitonin receptor agonists (DACRAs) in development for the treatment of obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic conditions.
• Long-Acting PYY Receptor Agonist Long-acting peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) receptor agonist being developed by i2o Therapeutics for obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic diseases, adding a complementary mechanism to the GLP-1 and amylin programs.
• Long-Acting Glucagon Receptor Agonist Long-acting glucagon receptor agonist in development by i2o Therapeutics as part of its multi-mechanism obesity and cardio-renal-metabolic disease pipeline.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Zealand Pharma: Clinical-stage Danish biotech developing long-acting peptide therapeutics for obesity and metabolic disease, including amylin analogs. Direct overlap with i2o's amylin DACRA and GLP-1 programs and similar therapeutic focus on cardio-renal-metabolic indications.
• Viking Therapeutics: US clinical-stage biotech developing novel dual-agonist therapies (VK2735 GLP-1/GIP and amylin programs) for obesity. Closely comparable pipeline strategy to i2o's GLP-1/amylin combination approach and same indication focus.
• Structure Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing oral GLP-1 receptor agonists and other oral peptide-based therapeutics for metabolic diseases. Comparable peptide platform approach and metabolic-disease target indications to i2o's injectable long-acting program.
• Altimmune: Clinical-stage biotech developing pemvidutide (a GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist) for obesity and metabolic liver disease. Direct overlap with i2o's GLP-1 and glucagon programs and same cardiometabolic indication focus.

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Large pharmaceutical incumbent with leading GLP-1/GIP dual agonist (tirzepatide/Mounjaro/Zepbound) plus deep metabolic-disease pipeline. Defines the competitive benchmark for any GLP-1 or amylin player including i2o.
• Novo Nordisk: Global GLP-1 market leader with semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and active amylin and obesity pipeline. Sets the efficacy and scale benchmark that any long-acting peptide competitor such as i2o must clear.

Emerging players

• Hanmi Pharmaceutical: Korean pharma with proprietary long-acting peptide/protein platform (including efpegerglucagon and obesity programs) and established obesity partnership track record. Comparable peptide-engineering focus and obesity pipeline overlap.
• PegBio: Chinese clinical-stage biotech developing long-acting GLP-1 analogs and other peptide therapeutics for metabolic diseases. Comparable long-acting peptide platform strategy and cardiometabolic indication focus.
• Keros Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing protein therapeutics for metabolic and hematologic disorders, with cardiometabolic disease focus. Comparable biologics-peptide platform and overlapping metabolic-disease patient populations.

Others

• Intarcia Therapeutics: Pre-acquisition peer that developed implantable delivery platforms for chronic-disease drugs including diabetes. Directly relevant because i2o acquired the company in August 2023, making its technology and pipeline assets inherited by i2o.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about i2o Therapeutics