What KeyBioscience does

KeyBioscience AG is a Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, focused on discovering and developing novel peptide therapeutics for metabolic disorders. Founded in October 2011 originally as NUCo-Development — a joint venture between Nordic Bioscience and Unigene — the entity was renamed KeyBioscience in 2013 after Nordic Bioscience acquired Unigene's stake following Unigene's bankruptcy. The company now operates as a subsidiary of Nordic Bioscience.

The company's core technology is the DACRA (Dual Amylin and Calcitonin Receptor Agonist) peptide platform, which engineers peptides derived from naturally occurring variants in non-mammalian species (fish, birds, amphibians) where amylin and calcitonin functions are combined in a single peptide. The platform applies a battery of profiling assays measuring potency on amylin and calcitonin receptors — including cAMP and β-arrestin signaling, competitive ligand binding studies, and counter-screening for off-target effects on CGRP and adrenomedullin receptors — to engineer DACRAs with prolonged receptor activation enabling once-weekly dosing. KeyBioscience identifies lead candidates internally through this platform and has advanced three peptides into clinical development: KBP-042 for Type 2 Diabetes, KBP-089 and KBP-056 (both licensed to Eli Lilly in 2017), and the current lead KBP-336, a long-acting once-weekly injectable being developed for metabolic osteoarthritis.

KeyBioscience operates on a licensing and co-development revenue model with no commercial products on the market. Two peptides (KBP-089 and KBP-056) were licensed to Eli Lilly in 2017 under a strategic partnership that has since yielded a second-generation once-weekly Lilly-KeyBio QW DACRA in clinical development for obesity. Revenue is generated through licensing agreements, development and regulatory milestones, and potential future royalties on commercialized products. The company is private, with no public listing, no disclosed funding rounds, and no revenue figures in the public record. Operational continuity is supported through its parent Nordic Bioscience.

Name

KeyBioscience

Legal name

KeyBioscience AG

Website

https://keybioscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

KeyBioscience is a Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel peptide therapeutics (DACRAs) for metabolic disorders, including Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, and osteoarthritis, partnering with Eli Lilly to advance its pipeline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Peptide Therapeutics for Metabolic Disorders

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Therapeutic Peptides & Protein/Peptide Biologics (HLAAAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC), Endocrinology & Metabolic Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAD)

Keywords

• Peptide therapeutics
• Metabolic disorder drugs
• DACRA technology
• Clinical-stage biopharmaceuticals
• Obesity therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

Lugano

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Licensing and Co-development Agreements: KeyBioscience develops novel peptide therapeutics internally and out-licenses development candidates to pharmaceutical partners. Revenue is generated through upfront payments, milestone payments tied to development and regulatory achievements, and potential royalties on commercialized products.
2. Strategic Partnerships: Partnership with Eli Lilly for DACRA development represents a key revenue stream through development milestones and potential future royalties on approved products.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

KeyBioscience is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops novel peptide therapeutics for metabolic disorders. Its proprietary DACRA (Dual Amylin and Calcitonin Receptor Agonist) platform engineers peptides with prolonged receptor activation, enabling once-weekly injectable dosing for indications including Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, and metabolic osteoarthritis. Development candidates are out-licensed to large pharmaceutical partners (notably Eli Lilly) for clinical development and commercialization.

Product overview

KeyBioscience is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel peptide therapeutics for metabolic disorders. The company's core offering is its DACRA (Dual Amylin and Calcitonin Receptor Agonists) peptide platform, which leverages an extensive profiling platform inspired by naturally occurring peptide variants. The platform has yielded multiple product candidates: KBP-042 (first-generation for Type 2 Diabetes), KBP-089 and KBP-056 (for obesity and osteoarthritis), KBP-336 (long-acting once-weekly injectable for metabolic osteoarthritis currently in clinical development), and the Lilly-KeyBio QW DACRA (licensed to Eli Lilly for obesity). Three peptides have entered clinical development for Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, and osteoarthritis, with two licensed to Eli Lilly in 2017.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• KBP-336 is the most potent DACRA identified to date, selected for clinical development based on highly promising potency, stability, and durability of response in model systems

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Eli LillycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Strategic partnership established in summer 2017 to develop the first Dual Amylin Calcitonin Receptor Agonist (DACRA) for type 2 diabetes as a once-daily injectable. KeyBioscience licensed two peptides (KBP-089 and KBP-056) to Eli Lilly. A second generation of the Lilly-KeyBio QW DACRA is now in clinical development for obesity. The partnership bore fruit with the announcement of the Lilly-KeyBio QW DACRA clinical asset in spring 2022.
• Nordic BiosciencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Nordic Bioscience co-founded KeyBioscience (originally NUCo-Development) in October 2011 as an equal venture with Unigene. Nordic Bioscience provided financial support and has grown to be a partner to some of the largest drug developers in the world. Following Unigene's bankruptcy in 2013, Nordic Bioscience acquired Unigene's stake, transforming NUCo-Development into KeyBioscience.
• UnigeneminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Original founding partner in NUCo-Development venture established October 2011 with Nordic Bioscience. Unigene contributed intellectual property to the partnership. Unigene faced bankruptcy in summer 2013, after which Nordic Bioscience acquired Unigene's stake.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Eli Lilly: Eli Lilly is KeyBioscience's strategic partner and the dominant incumbent in metabolic therapeutics, with the leading GLP-1/incretin franchise (tirzepatide) and its own obesity pipeline. Lilly provides the comparator benchmark for DACRA efficacy and the likely commercialization channel for licensed KeyBioscience assets.
• Novo Nordisk: Novo Nordisk is the global incumbent in diabetes and obesity therapeutics, anchored by its GLP-1 franchise (semaglutide) and actively developing amylin and dual-agonist candidates. It defines the competitive bar that any DACRA-style therapy must clear to capture commercial value.

Emerging players

• Rhythm Pharmaceuticals: Rhythm Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage company focused on rare metabolic diseases (MC4R pathway) with an MC4R agonist franchise. It shares with KeyBioscience a focus on peptide/receptor-agonist mechanisms targeting metabolic disease pathophysiology, although in a different receptor niche.
• Vivani Medical: Vivani Medical (formerly Vivani + Cortigent) develops long-acting peptide-based implants for chronic metabolic disease. Its long-duration peptide delivery approach and metabolic indication focus intersect with KeyBioscience's once-weekly DACRA strategy for obesity and related disorders.
• MBX Biosciences: MBX Biosciences is a clinical-stage peptide therapeutics company developing long-acting peptides for endocrine and metabolic disorders. Its emphasis on engineered, long-duration peptide analogs parallels KeyBioscience's prolonged-activation DACRA design philosophy.
• Crinetics Pharmaceuticals: Crinetics is a clinical-stage company developing oral peptide/non-peptide agonists for endocrine and metabolic indications, including acromegaly and hyperinsulinism. Its peptide-based mechanism and metabolic/endocrine indication focus overlap directly with KeyBioscience's metabolic peptide strategy.

Direct peers

• Zealand Pharma: Zealand Pharma is a clinical-stage peptide therapeutics company with a leading amylin analog program for obesity and metabolic disease, making it the closest direct competitor to KeyBioscience's DACRA platform in mechanism, indication space, and development stage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about KeyBioscience