The funding attracted a diverse group of new investors, including Cormorant Asset Management, SymBiosis, Surveyor Capital, Walleye Capital, Laurion Capital Management, Tetragon Financial Group, LG Technology Ventures, Cantor Ventures, Silver Arc Private Capital, and The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association – USA.
Existing investors such as Vickers Venture Partners and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research also participated.
In conjunction with the financing, Decheng Capital managing director Victor Tong Jr. became part of the board of directors of Aardvark.
This capital influx comes after Aardvark secured $29m in a Series B funding round in August 2021. This round was led by Vickers Venture Partners.
The company plans to allocate these Series C funds primarily towards concluding the clinical trials for obtaining regulatory approval of its leading candidate, ARD-101, aimed at treating hyperphagia in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) patients.
Additionally, the investment will support the company to demonstrate ARD-101’s mechanism of action as complementary to existing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for obesity treatment as well as further the development of its other pipeline programmes.
ARD-101 is an oral bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) pan-agonist that stimulates the release of gut-peptide hormones, including GLP-1 and the satiety hormone Cholecystokinin (CCK).
The drug has shown potential in reducing hunger both as a standalone treatment and in combination with current GLP-1 therapies.
The ongoing clinical trial of ARD-101 has yielded promising results, leading the FDA to grant the drug both orphan drug and rare pediatric disease designations for PWS.
Aardvark Therapeutics CEO Tien Lee said: “We believe our lead compound, ARD-101, is a well-differentiated first-in-class drug candidate that is orthogonal and complementary to existing obesity drugs and reduces hunger through the selective induction of gut-brain signalling.
“The novel mechanism of action and gut-restricted nature of ARD-101 contribute to its encouraging safety and tolerability profile, as well as its broad-spectrum of activity.”