Weight-loss drug developer Metsera reveals wider loss in US IPO filing (updated)

MBX Biosciences

10/01/2025 21:56

(Adds background on weight-loss drug market and company
background from paragraph 5 onwards)

        * 
      Metsera reports $156.26 million loss in first nine months
of
2024
    

        * 
      Proceeds from IPO to fund MET-097i clinical trials
    

        * 
      Weight-loss drug market projected to reach $150 billion by
early
2030s
    

  
       Jan 10 (Reuters) - Weight-loss drug developer Metsera,
backed by ARCH Venture Partners, revealed a wider loss in its
paperwork for a U.S. initial public offering on Friday.
    The terms of the IPO were not disclosed in the filing.  
    Strong equity markets, falling interest rates and hopes of a
friendlier regulatory environment under the incoming Trump
administration have given a push to companies looking to list
their shares. 
    Metsera, founded in 2022 by venture capital firm ARCH
Venture and investment firm Population Health Partners, revealed
a net loss of $156.26 million in the first nine months of 2024,
compared to a loss of $34.18 million in the same period in
2023. 
    The New York City-based biotech firm is developing
injectable and oral drugs to treat obesity, based on the GLP-1
mechanism and other biological targets.
    The company will use the proceeds from the IPO to advance
into the next stage of clinical trials for its most advanced
product candidate, MET-097i, an injectable. The remainder will
be used for working capital and other general purposes. 
The weight-loss drug market, which is estimated by analysts to
reach at least $150 billion by the early 2030s, has boomed
globally with several companies vying for a share of the pie. 
This attractive market has also whetted investor appetite, with
the strong reception of BioAge  BIOA.O  and MBX Biosciences
 MBX.O  last year. 
    In 2023, the World Health Organization decided not to add
GLP-1 drugs to its essential medicines list, a catalog of the
items that should be available in all functioning health
systems. 
    However, another application has been lodged for the agency
to reconsider their inclusion in the 2025 list update, a
spokesperson told Reuters in December. 
The company raised $290 million in funding last year, with
participation from firms such as SoftBank and Mubadala Capital. 
    Metsera intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global
Market under the ticker symbol "MTSR". 
    BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs, Evercore ISI, Guggenheim
Securities and Cantor are the underwriters for the offering. 
     

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan
Barona)
((mailto:Pritam.Biswas@thomsonreuters.com))