Philly life sciences is kicking off the new year with a major raise from a new biotech company.
Alveus Therapeutics emerged from stealth today, announcing an almost $160 million Series A to fund its next stage of growth.
The Philly-based startup, which is developing a weight-loss drug called ALV-100, spun out of local life sciences investment firm New Rhein Healthcare Investors in 2024. New Rhein led the Series A round along with Andera Partners and Omega Funds. Sanofi Capital, Kurma Partners and Avego BioScience Capital also contributed.
“We are very confident that Alveus is uniquely positioned to be able to lead that next wave of innovation in obesity,” CEO Raj Kannan told Technical.ly. “In terms of the focus that we have on the validated targets and the way we’re going about executing our clinical trials.”
The company aims to stand out from other GLP-1s like Ozempic by focusing on not only dropping weight but also keeping it off. Wegovy, another competitor in the space, was recently approved to distribute an oral GLP-1, instead of the traditional injection. Alveus is exploring both approaches, according to a press release.
The funding will allow the company to finish Phase 2 clinical development for ALV-100 and get it ready for Phase 3, he said. This entails fully understanding the molecule and the dose of the drug before moving into the next phase. Alveus also has other drug candidates that will be able to move into human testing.
“It’s not just about reducing weight,” Kannan said. “It’s not the quantity, but we should also focus on the quality of the weight loss. So less muscle depletion, people staying on therapy longer. Those were the things that we thought about that were significant unmet needs.”
New Rhein Healthcare Investors pulled together a team of biotech leaders based around the world with experience at pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to develop weight-loss drugs, per the Philadelphia Business Journal.
While headquartered in Center City, Alveus’ research and development operations are based in Copenhagen, Denmark, where there is a robust ecosystem around obesity and metabolism research, Kannan said.
The company’s workforce, which is made up of less than 50 people, is currently evenly split between Philly and Denmark, Kannan said. However, as Alveus continues to grow, it isn’t restricting itself to bringing in talent from one specific location.
A huge raise after a mixed year
This news follows a rollercoaster year for the life sciences ecosystem in Philadelphia.
The region’s life sciences community experienced wins like investments from major players like Eli Lilly and Thermo Fisher Scientific. But 2025 also saw major layoffs and local companies shutting down.
While the region touts its success in research and workforce development, local companies still struggle to bring in cash, especially from local investors. In general, venture capital was hard to come by in 2025 as the market fluctuated.
“You would think that capital is global,” Ira Spector, CEO of SFA Therapeutics, previously told Technical.ly. “And in some cases it is, but it’s nice if there’s a network in your own region.”
