The San Diego–based company’s molecules avoid the well-trod GLP-1 pathway in favor of an alternate route in the gut.
In a 2025 punctuated by news from the weight-loss space, obesity-focused biotech Aardvark Therapeutics filed for an IPO Thursday, following competitor Metsera, which announced its own bid earlier this month.
Aardvark did not announce a planned value in its SEC filing, but said it will use any funds raised to “advance the clinical development” of its lead candidate ARD-101, as well as its other offering ARD-201, both for hyperphagia.
While myriad companies are hoping to compete with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in the GLP-1 space, Aardvark is trying to enter through a side door. ARD-101 antagonizes bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) proteins in the gut lumen, which stimulates the body’s eventual release of GLP-1, the related molecule GLP-2 and the satiety hormone cholecystokinin, with the aim to reduce hunger feelings.
In a suite of Phase II trials conducted in 2023, ARD-101 elicited reduced hunger ratings in patients in a handful of different indications, including general obesity. Now the company has ARD-101 in Phase II trials for hypothalamic obesity associated hyperphagia and Phase III studies for Prader-Willi syndrome associated hyperphagia, a rare genetic condition that produces symptoms of weak muscles, slow development, and in early childhood, feelings of persistent hunger which lead to obesity and type II diabetes. In 2023, Aardvark won Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from the FDA for ARD-101 in this indication.
Meanwhile, ARD-201 is a combination of ARD-101 and a DPP-4 inhibitor, a molecule that reduces glucose and glucagon levels in the blood.
Aardvark noted in its SEC filing that it does “not expect to be able to use a DPP4 inhibitor in [its] ARD-201 program unless and until it is no longer protected by patent.” DPP4 inhibitors are a common treatment for type II diabetes, on the market in the U.S. since 2006.
It’s been a busy 12 months for Aardvark. In May 2024 the biotech raised an $85 million Series C, while earlier this month it added two new members to its board of directors.
Aardvark follows fellow obesity player Metsera into IPO waters. The fast-moving biotech—which launched in April 2024—announced its own bid to go public on Jan. 10. Like Aardvark, Metsera did not indicate a target for the IPO.
