Swedish biotech Pila Pharma has secured nearly SEK 20 million ($1.8 million) in fresh funding to accelerate the development of its oral TRPV1 inhibitor, XEN-D0501, for obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The capital raise also includes stock options that could bring in additional funds within nine months, “positioning the company for further growth and potential partnerships”.
Founded by former Novo Nordisk researcher Dorte X. Gram, Pila Pharma is listed on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm. Gram was the first to screen and identify the molecule that later became semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Building on that expertise, the company aims to develop a first-in-class oral therapy that could rival injectable glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1) based treatments and expand options for patients with obesity.
“This funding allows us to create a data package on weight loss that will make us attractive for partnerships or acquisition,” said CEO Gustav H. Gram. “Major pharmaceutical companies have already shown interest in our compound’s differentiated profile, and concrete weight-loss data will strengthen those discussions.”
Despite the promising developments, Pila Pharma’s stock fell by 15.57% on July 10, compared to the market close on the previous day. The company’s stock has been down 14.67% since the start of the year, reflecting cautious investor sentiment amid broader volatility in biotech markets.
A Dedicated Focus on Obesity
Pila Pharma plans to use the new funds to establish a dedicated research track for obesity, investigating XEN-D0501’s potential in people with overweight but without diabetes. Preclinical studies in rats will begin immediately, followed by clinical trials in overweight individuals. Parallel to these efforts, the company is preparing for PP-CT03, a Phase 2a trial in obese people with type 2 diabetes to assess efficacy and safety at higher doses.
“With the new capital, we are launching a separate obesity track to generate meaningful data,” said founder Dorte X. Gram. “The obesity market is shifting toward tablet-based solutions and alternatives to GLP-1 therapies, and our compound’s unique mechanism offers an opportunity to stand out.”
Unlike GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) or Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide), XEN-D0501 is a small-molecule TRPV1 antagonist. This drug class acts by down-regulating neurogenic inflammation, a process implicated in metabolic diseases. Animal studies suggest TRPV1 inhibition may prevent glucose intolerance and body weight gain, hinting at a novel mechanism for managing obesity.
XEN-D0501’s Clinical Progress
Pila Pharma licensed XEN-D0501 in 2016 and has since completed two Phase IIa trials (PP-CT01 and PP-CT02). Both demonstrated that the compound is well tolerated in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes. In PP-CT02, a 4mg twice-daily dose administered over 28 days significantly enhanced insulin response to oral glucose compared to placebo and showed a notable reduction in ANP, a heart failure biomarker.
Longer-term animal studies in 2023 revealed favorable tolerability even at high doses over 13 weeks, supporting progression into more extensive human trials. If XEN-D0501 proves effective for weight loss, it would be the first in its class to show such results, potentially disrupting a market currently dominated by GLP-1-based injectables.
“This could be a breakthrough for the industry,” Gustav Gram added. “We’re confident that our oral formulation, with its potentially distinct side effect profile, could meet global demand for scalable obesity treatments.”
A Shifting Obesity Market
The obesity treatment landscape is evolving rapidly. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Saxenda generated DKK65.1 billion ($9 billion) in 2024, but competition is heating up. Eli Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide), a dual GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist, pulled in $4.9 billion the same year. Novo Nordisk has acknowledged slower-than-expected US penetration of its branded GLP-1 therapies, leading to a reduced sales growth forecast for 2025. The company cut its sales growth to a range of 13-21%, compared to earlier guidance of 16-24%.
This competitive environment has spurred a wave of deals. In March, Roche entered a $5.3 billion co-development deal with Zealand Pharma for an obesity candidate, and AbbVie licensed Gubra’s obesity drug for $2.2 billion. More recently, Novo Nordisk partnered with Septerna in a $2.2 billion collaboration to develop oral small molecules for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.
