Superluminal Medicines has raised $60 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing to advance its drug development programs, including a lead treatment for rare genetic forms of obesity and hypothalamic obesity.
The biotechnology company plans to use the funding to move its lead program toward clinical development, with a Phase 1 trial expected to begin by the end of 2026. The company will also use the funds to expand its pipeline of small-molecule therapies targeting G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for endocrine and cardiometabolic diseases.
BVF Partners, L.P. led the financing. New investors Deep Track Capital and Perceptive Advisors joined existing investors RA Capital Management, Insight Partners, NVIDIA, Catalio Capital Management, Eli Lilly and Company, Cooley, and Gaingels.
Superluminal’s lead program is a selective, biased MC4R agonist being developed for rare genetic forms of obesity and hypothalamic obesity. The MC4R pathway plays an important role in regulating appetite and energy balance and has been linked to conditions including Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) and hypothalamic obesity.
The company believes its approach could improve treatment activity while reducing unwanted side effects by selectively activating the signaling pathways linked to the desired therapeutic effect. In preclinical studies, the candidate showed high selectivity and a favorable safety profile.
Beyond these rare obesity indications, Superluminal sees potential for its MC4R program in other metabolic diseases. Future applications could include Prader-Willi syndrome and combination treatment with GLP-1 therapies for broader patient populations.
“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, CEO of Superluminal Medicines. He added that the funding will allow the company to advance its first clinical program while continuing to develop new GPCR-targeted medicines.
Superluminal has built its drug discovery platform around artificial intelligence and machine learning, protein dynamics, structural biology, and GPCR-focused drug design. Its technology combines Cryo-EM capabilities with machine learning models, small-molecule design, predictive ADME and toxicology tools, and GPCR biophysics.
The platform is designed to help researchers identify and develop small-molecule drug candidates against GPCRs, a large class of drug targets that can be difficult to study because of their structural and functional complexity.
The company is also continuing collaborations with pharmaceutical companies. This includes a partnership with Eli Lilly to develop small-molecule therapies targeting undisclosed GPCRs for cardiometabolic diseases and obesity.
Harsha Paladugu, Investment Analyst at BVF and a member of Superluminal’s Board of Directors, said the company’s MC4R program could address an important unmet need for patients with rare forms of obesity. He also highlighted the potential of Superluminal’s discovery platform to produce new medicines against challenging GPCR targets.
With the new financing, Superluminal is moving closer to becoming a clinical-stage biotechnology company while expanding its focus on GPCR drug discovery and next-generation treatments for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.