BOSTON — Superluminal Medicines has raised $60 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing to advance its lead drug candidate for rare genetic forms of obesity into clinical development.
The financing was led by BVF Partners, L.P., with participation from new investors Deep Track Capital and Perceptive Advisors. Existing investors RA Capital Management, Insight Partners, NVIDIA, Catalio Capital Management, Eli Lilly and Company, Cooley and Gaingels also participated.
Superluminal said the proceeds will support a Phase 1 clinical trial of its lead program in rare genetic forms of obesity and hypothalamic obesity, expected to begin by the end of 2026. The funding will also support additional pipeline programs and expansion of the company’s GPCR-focused drug discovery platform.
“This financing represents an important milestone in Superluminal’s evolution as we transition from a discovery platform company to a clinical-stage biotechnology company,” said Cony D’Cruz, Chief Executive Officer of Superluminal Medicines.
The company’s lead candidate is a selective, biased melanocortin-4 receptor, or MC4R, agonist. The MC4R pathway plays a role in regulating appetite and energy balance and has been linked to rare genetic forms of obesity, including Bardet-Biedl syndrome and hypothalamic obesity.
Superluminal said the program could eventually have applications in other conditions, including Prader-Willi syndrome, as well as potential use in combination with GLP-1 therapies in a broader obesity population.
The company said its approach is designed to activate signaling pathways associated with the desired therapeutic effect while limiting pathways that could contribute to side effects. The candidate demonstrated high selectivity and a favorable safety profile in preclinical studies, according to Superluminal.
Superluminal uses structural biology, machine learning and artificial intelligence to discover small-molecule therapies targeting G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs. Its platform combines cryo-electron microscopy, computational modeling, small-molecule design and predictive drug metabolism and toxicology tools.
The company is also developing other GPCR-targeted therapies for endocrine and cardiometabolic diseases and has a collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company focused on small-molecule treatments targeting undisclosed GPCRs for cardiometabolic diseases and obesity.
“We are excited to partner with Superluminal as the company prepares to enter the clinic,” said Harsha Paladugu, Investment Analyst at BVF and a member of Superluminal’s Board of Directors. “The lead MC4R program has the potential to address a serious unmet need for patients with rare genetic forms of obesity.”
Nandita Shangari, Managing Director at RA Capital Management and a member of Superluminal’s Board of Directors, said the financing reflects confidence in the company’s drug discovery platform and its ability to translate the technology into clinical programs.
