Kailera Therapeutics has announced a $600m Series B financing led by new investor Bain Capital Private Equity.
The financing will be fully funded at closing and will support the advancement of Kailera’s leading obesity portfolio.
This includes a global Phase III clinical programme of Kailera’s lead candidate KAI-9531, an injectable dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist with potentially best-in-category weight loss.
Additional new investors in the Series B round include leading mutual funds and investors, as well as Kailera’s existing investors, Atlas Venture, Bain Capital Life Sciences, RTW Investments and Sirona Capital.
Kailera completed End-of-Phase II meetings with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and plans to initiate its global Phase III programme by year's end.
The Phase III programme will include two trials in adults living with obesity or overweight with comorbidities, with and without type 2 diabetes and an additional trial in adults living with a BMI of 35 or higher.
“We are excited to welcome our new investors and extend sincere appreciation to our current investors for their continued confidence in our vision,” said Ron Renaud, President and CEO of Kailera.
“With an increasing global population affected by obesity and limited options for those living with a higher BMI, the need for effective treatment options has never been greater."
"With this funding, we will accelerate the advancement of our pipeline, including our lead programme KAI-9531 that has the potential to deliver substantial weight loss for people living with obesity."
"We look forward to starting our global Phase 3 trials of KAI-9531 by the end of this year — marking a pivotal step in our mission to deliver therapies that empower people with obesity to transform their health and live fuller, healthier lives.”
The financing will also advance KAI-7535, an oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist that demonstrated competitive weight loss in a Phase II clinical trial in China, to global clinical trials."
Additionally, the company continues to progress its earlier-stage programmes, KAI-4729, an injectable GLP-1/GIP/glucagon receptor tri-agonist and KAI-9531 formulated as a once-daily oral tablet.
Beyond its current pipeline, Kailera has certain rights to new formulations of licenced products and rights of first refusal over selected assets in Hengrui’s metabolic disease portfolio.
“Kailera is uniquely positioned to make an impact beyond the current market leaders with a lead asset poised to set the bar for the next generation of obesity treatments."
"The company’s broader portfolio — spanning diverse mechanisms of action and routes of administration — further supports its potential to be a leader in obesity care,” said Chris Gordon, Partner and Global Co-Head of Bain Capital Private Equity.
“We are impressed with the significant progress Kailera has made in just one year, having assembled a world-class, experienced team while successfully executing critical steps to advance its differentiated and broad pipeline of obesity treatments."
"We’re proud to join this high-calibre investor syndicate in supporting their mission to address one of the most pressing global health challenges,” added Andrew Kaplan, Partner at Bain Capital Private Equity.
In conjunction with the financing, Mr Kaplan will join Kailera’s Board of Directors.
The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.