Another Shot in the Obesity Gold Rush

A $160m funding round propels Alveus into mid-stage trials, as investors hunt for drugs that improve on today’s GLP-1 blockbusters

23 Feb 2026

The contest to treat obesity has gained another entrant. Alveus Therapeutics, a young biotech firm, has raised $160m in a Series A round to advance its lead drug into mid-stage trials. The size of the cheque reflects the scale of the prize. Global sales of obesity medicines are forecast to exceed $100bn within a decade, drawing capital from both specialist investors and large pharmaceutical firms.

The first generation of GLP-1-based treatments has reshaped expectations of what weight-loss drugs can achieve. They have also set a high bar. As more competitors crowd the field, investors are looking for therapies that offer sharper results or fewer side-effects, rather than incremental copies.

Alveus argues that its candidate, ALV-100, fits that brief. The drug targets two biological pathways linked to appetite and metabolic control, rather than one. The aim is to produce substantial weight loss while improving tolerability, an increasingly important consideration as patients remain on treatment for longer. In obesity, commercial success depends not only on efficacy but also on adherence.

The funding round was led by New Rhein Healthcare Investors and Andera Partners, with participation from Omega Funds and Sanofi Capital. The involvement of Sanofi’s investment arm suggests that large drugmakers are monitoring emerging science closely, seeking assets that could strengthen their metabolic portfolios.

Yet enthusiasm comes with hazards. Late-stage obesity trials are lengthy and expensive. Regulators are paying particular attention to long-term cardiovascular safety. Meanwhile, manufacturing capacity for peptide-based drugs is under strain, as demand for existing therapies soars.

For now, capital continues to flow. The size of Alveus’s raise signals confidence that the science of metabolic disease still has room to improve on today’s breakthroughs. The obesity market may already be crowded, but investors appear convinced that the next wave of drugs will not merely share in the boom, but redefine it.