What Pila Pharma does

Pila Pharma AB (publ) is a clinical-stage Swedish biotech company developing a small molecule TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 / capsaicin receptor) antagonist called XEN-D0501 as a potential first-in-class oral treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and associated cardiometabolic conditions. The company was founded in Malmö, Sweden in 2014 by Dorte X. Gram — the named inventor of the principle of treating diabetes and obesity with TRPV1 antagonists, a discovery made during her PhD research at Novo Nordisk — and has been listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm under the ticker "PILA" since 15 July 2021. Pila Pharma operates with a deliberately slim in-house organisation, relying on consulting specialists and contract research organisations to advance development.

XEN-D0501 is formulated as a 4 mg oral tablet with up to a 5-year shelf life at 25°C, distinguishing it from cold-chain injectable peptide alternatives in the obesity and diabetes space. Pila Pharma is developing the molecule across three indications: (1) a primary program in obesity / type 2 diabetes / heart failure that has completed two Phase 2a trials (PP-CT01 in 2018, PP-CT02 showing statistically significant enhancement of endogenous insulin response to oral glucose and a highly statistically significant reduction of the heart failure biomarker ANP), with a next Phase 2a (PP-CT03) being prepared; (2) a secondary program in erythromelalgia, a rare neurogenic inflammatory pain disease, for which the US FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation in July 2022; and (3) an early preclinical program in abdominal aorta aneurysm (AAA), which established proof-of-concept in mice in December 2024 and is positioned for out-licensing. The TRPV1 target was the basis of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian.

Pila Pharma is pre-revenue and has no products currently commercialised. Its stated business model is to develop XEN-D0501 to clinical proof-of-concept in obesity and then secure a partnership, out-licensing deal, or acquisition by a larger pharmaceutical company; the orphan erythromelalgia and AAA programs are explicitly "available for out-licensing." To date, the company has funded operations through multiple dilutive post-IPO equity raises on Nasdaq First North, including a SEK 10M directed issue in July 2024, a further SEK 10M in September 2024, a EUR 1.8M capital increase in July 2025, and a SEK 30M oversubscribed rights issue in October 2025 (293.5% subscribed). The target end-markets are large — more than 1 billion people living with obesity and more than 828 million living with diabetes globally, with the obesity market estimated at over $100 billion annually by 2030 — but Pila Pharma addresses them through a differentiated TRPV1 mechanism rather than the dominant GLP-1 pathway.

Name

Pila Pharma

Legal name

PILA PHARMA AB (publ)

Website

https://pilapharma.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Pila Pharma is a clinical-stage Swedish biotech developing XEN-D0501, an oral small-molecule TRPV1 antagonist, for obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart failure, erythromelalgia (FDA Orphan Drug Designation) and abdominal aorta aneurysm. Pre-revenue; aims to out-license or be acquired after proof-of-concept.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Malmö

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

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. Future out-licensing / partnership / acquisition royalties: Company is pre-revenue. Explicitly stated strategy: develop XEN-D0501 to proof-of-concept in obesity, then secure partnership or acquisition by a larger pharmaceutical company. The erythromelalgia (orphan) and abdominal aorta aneurysm programs are explicitly "available for out-licensing." Future revenue is expected to flow from licensing/royalty payments, partnership milestones, or an acquisition by a larger pharmaceutical company.
2. Orphan drug development (erythromelalgia) for future out-licensing: Draft clinical development plan in place for the orphan erythromelalgia indication; the program is available for out-licensing. No commercialisation currently underway.
3. Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm (AAA) program available for out-licensing: AAA project in early preclinical phase (TRPV1 antagonist XEN-D0501 shown to reduce abdominal aorta aneurysm growth in mice, Dec 2024). The project should be able to progress to proof-of-concept clinical trials and is available for out-licensing.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Pila Pharma is developing XEN-D0501, a selective, synthetic, potent small-molecule TRPV1 antagonist formulated as a 4 mg oral tablet (up to 5-year shelf life at 25°C), for the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart failure (primary Phase 2a program), erythromelalgia (secondary orphan program with US FDA Orphan Drug Designation), and abdominal aorta aneurysm (early preclinical program). The company is pre-revenue and intends to develop the asset to proof-of-concept and then secure a partnership, licensing deal, or acquisition by a larger pharmaceutical company.

Product overview

PILA PHARMA is a clinical-stage Swedish biotech company built around a single platform asset, the small molecule TRPV1 antagonist XEN-D0501, which is being evaluated across a three-project pipeline: (1) the primary Obesity / Type 2 Diabetes / Heart Failure program advancing to a Phase 2a trial (PP-CT03), (2) the secondary Erythromelalgia / Pain program that holds US FDA Orphan Drug Designation and is available for out-licensing, and (3) the early-preclinical Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm (AAA) program, which demonstrated proof-of-concept in mice in December 2024. All three indications leverage the same 4 mg oral tablet formulation of XEN-D0501, and the company's stated strategy is to develop the asset through proof-of-concept in obesity and then secure a partnership or acquisition with a larger pharmaceutical company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• XEN-D0501 (TRPV1 antagonist small molecule) XEN-D0501 is a selective, synthetic, potent small-molecule TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 / capsaicin / 'chili' receptor) antagonist, in-licensed in 2016 and currently formulated as a 4 mg oral tablet with up to 5 years of shelf life at 25°C. It is the platform asset underlying all three of Pila Pharma's pipeline programs.
• Obesity / Type 2 Diabetes / Heart Failure Program (XEN-D0501) Primary pipeline program evaluating XEN-D0501 in obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart failure. Two Phase 2a trials (PP-CT01, PP-CT02) have been completed; PP-CT02 demonstrated statistically significant enhancement of endogenous insulin response to oral glucose and a highly statistically significant reduction of the ANP heart-failure biomarker vs placebo. The next step is a planned Phase 2a trial (PP-CT03) to identify the maximum tolerable dose, evaluate 3-month chronic safety, and include efficacy readouts on body weight reduction.
• Erythromelalgia / Pain Program (XEN-D0501) Secondary pipeline program developing XEN-D0501 for erythromelalgia, a rare neurogenic inflammatory disease causing episodic severe burning pain in the extremities. The program holds US FDA Orphan Drug Designation (July 2022) and has a draft clinical development plan for a small proof-of-concept study to demonstrate XEN-D0501's effect on pain during flare-ups; the project is available for out-licensing.
• Abdominal Aorta Aneurysm (AAA) Program (XEN-D0501) Early-preclinical pipeline program in which XEN-D0501 was shown in December 2024 to significantly reduce abdominal aorta aneurysm growth in mice, establishing preclinical proof-of-concept. The project is positioned for out-licensing and progression to clinical proof-of-concept trials.

Quantifiable outcome

• PP-CT02 phase 2a: XEN-D0501 (4 mg bi-daily for 28 days) enhanced endogenous insulin response to oral glucose with statistical significance vs placebo in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
• +6 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core (current), supporting (clinical operations) and foundational (ip origin).

• Gubracore (current)Implementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 2 October 2025On 2 October 2025, Pila Pharma announced an agreement with the Danish contract research organisation Gubra to conduct preclinical studies of XEN-D0501 in obesity. The studies aim to show proof-of-concept in obesity rat models and constitute an important step in the company's development of this TRPV1 inhibitor as a potential next-generation oral first-in-class drug candidate.
• Lindus Healthsupporting (clinical operations)Implementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 25 July 2024On 25 July 2024, Pila Pharma disclosed that it had entered into a collaboration with UK-based Lindus Health, supporting the company's clinical trial activities for its TRPV1 antagonist candidate XEN-D0501 (phase 2a trial targeting obesity and type 2 diabetes).
• XENIA PHARMA ApSfoundational (ip origin)OEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerXENIA PHARMA ApS, Denmark, is the founder Dorte X. Gram's mother company from which the original TRPV1 use-patent rights were acquired in 2008. Use-patents were subsequently issued via XENIA PHARMA and then transferred to Pila Pharma AB (founded 2014 as a subsidiary) in 2014. XENIA PHARMA ApS remains owned by the founder.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Structure Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing oral small-molecule GLP-1 agonists for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Directly comparable as a small-cap company pursuing an oral, non-injectable profile for the same patient population Pila targets, though with a different mechanism (GLP-1 vs. TRPV1).
• vTv Therapeutics: Clinical-stage small-cap biotech developing oral small-molecule therapies for type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders. Closely comparable in stage, capital profile, and focus on differentiated oral mechanisms in diabetes/obesity.
• Lexicon Pharmaceuticals: Small-cap biotech developing oral small-molecule therapies (sotagliflozin) for type 2 diabetes and related cardiometabolic conditions. Comparable in size, modality (oral small molecule), and indication focus (diabetes with cardiovascular implications), although Lexicon targets SGLT rather than TRPV1.
• Eccogene: Clinical-stage biotech (China-based) developing oral small-molecule therapies for obesity (e.g., ECC5004, a GLP-1 agonist). Directly comparable in pursuing an oral, scalable, non-injectable obesity profile with small-molecule chemistry.

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Markets Mounjaro/Zepbound (tirzepatide), the leading injectable GLP-1/GIP obesity therapy, and is developing oral obesity candidates. Comparable as the second pillar of the GLP-1 incumbent duopoly against which any novel obesity mechanism (including TRPV1) must demonstrate value.
• Novo Nordisk: Global leader in diabetes and obesity therapeutics (Ozempic, Wegovy) and the originator employer of Pila Pharma's founder Dorte X. Gram. Comparable as the dominant incumbent in the same metabolic-disease indications Pila targets, although operating at vastly greater scale with injectable GLP-1s rather than oral TRPV1 antagonists.

Others

• BioRestorative Therapies: Micro-cap clinical-stage biotech developing cell-based and small-molecule therapies for metabolic and musculoskeletal conditions. Comparable in scale, listed-micro-cap profile, and clinical-stage biotech structure, rather than in mechanism or indication overlap.
• Tarsus Pharmaceuticals: Small-cap commercial-stage biotech that scaled from clinical development to product launch. Comparable as a small-cap public biotech with a single-platform focus, though operating in ophthalmology rather than metabolic disease.

Emerging players

• Keros Therapeutics: Clinical-stage biotech developing protein-based therapeutics for hematological and musculoskeletal disorders. Comparable as a small-cap, clinical-stage biotech with a single-modality platform pursuing multiple indications, though operating in different therapeutic areas.
• Metsera: Emerging clinical-stage obesity biotech developing oral and injectable peptide-based therapies. Comparable in obesity-focused pipeline ambition and clinical-stage status, though with mechanism overlap to existing GLP-1s rather than TRPV1.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PilaPharma
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2p3J94KbVMlVCWS2CQGwdg
• Facebookfacebook.com/pilapharma
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4856271
• Instagraminstagram.com/pila_pharma

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds14 records

Investors2 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 Pila Pharma