Xconomy: Rhythm Raises $41M to Bankroll Late-Stage Push For Obesity Drug
Summary
Rhythm Raises $41M to Bankroll Late-Stage Push For Obesity Drug Xconomy Boston — Rhythm, a Boston biotech developing drugs for rare, life-threatening metabolic disorders, has raised $41 million from a group of crossover investors, a signal that an initial public offering could be on the way.The company released data from small Phase 2 trials for both conditions in 2016, indicating that the drug was able to meet goals of reducing patients’ hunger and weight.The $41 million mezzanine round came from existing investors Deerfield Management, Ipsen, OrbiMed, MPM Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Pfizer Venture Investments, Third Rock Ventures, and an unnamed public healthcare investment fund.Rhythm’s setmelanotide is a peptide drug that targets a protein called melanocortin 4 receptor, or MC4, which plays a key role in weight and appetite regulation in the brain and doesn’t function properly in people with POMC and LEPR.Rhythm is also studying its use in Prader-Willi syndrome—a condition that can cause an insatiable desire to eat, like LEPR and POMC, as well as other health problems—in a Phase 2 trial.
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