An Endocrine News roundup of the week’s pharmaceutical news, breakthroughs, and general information. *
Moonwalk Biosciences Announces $70 Million Series B Financing to Advance Adipose-Targeted RNAi Therapies for Obesity and Cardiometabolic Diseases
On Sept. 8, Moonwalk Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing adipose-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, announced the closing of an oversubscribed $70 million Series B financing.
The financing was co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, and existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Future Ventures. Proceeds will support advancement of Moonwalk’s lead obesity candidate, MW101, into first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027, expand the Company’s pipeline of tissue-targeted siRNA medicines and further advance its proprietary discovery platform.
Moonwalk’s programs are designed to selectively deliver siRNA therapeutics directly to adipose tissue, enabling precise modulation of novel, non-incretin pathways underlying obesity. The Company’s differentiated approach combines human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery with proprietary tissue-targeting chemistry to unlock previously inaccessible biology and develop first-in-class medicines with the potential for durable efficacy, preservation of lean muscle mass and infrequent dosing. The platform enables highly specific modulation of adipose biology while minimizing effects on other tissues. Moonwalk exclusively licensed the adipose-targeting chemistry from Suzhou Siran Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for its first-in-class pipeline, which focuses on modulating novel pathways involved in energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, lipolysis and thermogenesis.
“Obesity places an extraordinary physical and emotional burden on millions of people,” said Alex Aravanis, MD, PhD, CEO and co-founder, Moonwalk Biosciences. “This financing brings us closer to developing a new generation of adipose-targeted medicines designed to improve outcomes for people living with obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases.”
“Obesity is one of the most significant global health challenges, and Moonwalk is pursuing a fundamentally different approach to treating it,” said Rick Gerson, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Alpha Wave Global. “By targeting adipose tissue directly, Moonwalk may redefine how obesity is treated by delivering therapies with the potential for durable efficacy, lean muscle preservation and infrequent dosing.”
“What stood out to us about Moonwalk is the depth of the science behind the platform and the strength of the preclinical evidence generated to date,” said Chris Dimitropoulos, managing director, Life Sciences Investments of Alpha Wave Global. “By combining adipose-selective RNAi delivery with human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics discovery, the Moonwalk team has devised a highly precise way to modulate adipose biology.”
In addition to the financing, Dr. Stephen Djedjos has been appointed as senior vice president, Clinical Development at Moonwalk, bringing more than 20 years of clinical and drug development experience. Most recently, he served as SVP and Head of Clinical Development at Kailera Therapeutics, where he led clinical development as the company advanced its incretin therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases. Previously, he held senior clinical development roles at Mineralys Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Gilead Sciences and Amgen, where he contributed to the development and approval of Repatha®. A physician and pediatric endocrinologist by training, Dr. Djedjos completed his fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Across multiple preclinical studies, Moonwalk has demonstrated robust reductions in body weight and fat mass while preserving lean muscle mass without reducing food intake. The Company has also generated translational evidence demonstrating favorable modulation of metabolic pathways consistent with healthy adipose remodeling. In non-human primate studies, Moonwalk demonstrated durable adipose target engagement following a single dose, supporting the potential for quarterly or twice-yearly dosing.
Moonwalk’s lead development candidate, MW101, is expected to enter first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027 following completion of ongoing IND-enabling studies. In parallel, the Company is advancing multiple additional tissue-targeted siRNA programs for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.
About Moonwalk Biosciences
Moonwalk Biosciences is developing first-in-class adipose-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The Company’s proprietary AI-enabled discovery platform integrates human genetics, epigenomics and multi-omics with adipose-selective siRNA chemistry to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets involved in adipose biology, without affecting appetite. Moonwalk is advancing a pipeline of therapies designed to preserve lean mass, improve tolerability and enable infrequent dosing while addressing the underlying biology of obesity and metabolic disease. For more information, visit: www.moonwalk.bio.
Medically Modern Launches Endocrinology Partnership
On Sept. 8, Medically Modern, a national durable medical equipment (DME) supplier of continuous glucose monitors (CGM), insulin pumps, and related diabetes supplies, announced a new endocrinology partnership with an independent, multi-location endocrinology practice in Northern Virginia.
Under the partnership, Medically Modern manages prior authorization and fulfillment of the practice’s CGM and insulin pump referrals and gives its care team real-time visibility into every referred patient’s prescribed supplies.
Partner practices see each patient’s onboarding status – from medical necessity documentation through insurance verification, onboarding, and first shipment – plus ongoing resupply orders and each patient’s last visit date. When a patient nears the six-month mark without a visit – a window many payers tie to continued CGM coverage – Medically Modern works with the practice to get the patient scheduled before a resupply order is disrupted.
Onboarding for each provider partner starts with the practice’s biggest pain points – pharmacy versus DME benefit routing, patient six-month visits, and access to reliable supplies – and builds a workflow around them that reduces administrative burden for the provider’s office. The company then develops technology configured to each practice’s workflow, with the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating the administrative work that makes prescribing diabetic supplies such a headache. Providers retain full discretion over patient referrals, participation in the program has no bearing on referral volume, and clinical decisions stay with each patient’s treating providers. Coverage and cost-sharing vary by plan, and Medically Modern verifies benefits for every patient before fulfillment.
The partner practice cares for more than 10,000 patients with diabetes. Medically Modern works directly with leading diabetes technology manufacturers and offers the same partnership model to endocrinology and physician practices nationwide, serving patients across Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and nearly all major commercial payers.
“We pivoted into this partnership strategy after hearing the same thing from providers over and over: they are drowning in paperwork from prescribing FreeStyle Libres, Dexcoms, and insulin pumps. Our team knows the coverage process inside and out – the documentation requirements, the insurance processing, the white-glove service patients deserve. Combine that with tailored provider onboarding and technology built for each practice, and we make life easier for providers and their staff, so they can focus on what they do best: providing care,” said Corey Deutsch, founder and CEO of Medically Modern.
“It is an exciting time at Medically Modern. We have always been technology-first, and bringing that model to our provider partnership strategy has been incredibly rewarding. We are giving providers and their teams time back on tasks we can handle, and helping practices keep patients on track for the six-month visits many payers require,” said Josh Hoffman, Lead Engineer at Medically Modern.
Medically Modern operates under executed business associate agreements with its partner practices and maintains internal compliance policies addressing HIPAA, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Stark Law.
