BioAge Labs Files for $100M IPO to Advance AI-Driven Obesity and Aging Therapies

Intelligent Finance News learned that BioAge Labs (BIOA.US), a biotechnology startup focused on obesity treatment, stated on Tuesday that it has applied for an initial public offering in the United States, planning to raise $100 million and list on NASDAQ, without disclosing pricing terms.

The company's leading candidate drug, azelaprag, is an oral small molecule medication that has shown encouraging results in preclinical and early clinical trials, particularly when used in combination with GLP-1R agonists, enhancing weight loss effects. The company has initiated a mid-stage trial in collaboration with Eli Lilly's (LLY.US) Zepbound and plans to launch a second such trial in the first half of 2025 in conjunction with Novo Nordisk's (NVO.US) Wegovy.

In addition to weight loss, azelaprag can also improve body composition and muscle function by leveraging a unique technical platform and proprietary human datasets to identify promising targets associated with molecular changes related to aging. BioAge Labs is currently conducting Phase II clinical trials to evaluate the potential of azelaprag in combination with existing obesity treatment drugs, aiming to develop an all-oral combination therapy for obesity. Revenue data from the first batch of trials is expected to be released in Q3 2025. The company is also advancing a brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor for the treatment of neuroinflammation-driven diseases and plans to submit an IND in the second half of 2025.

To date, BioAge's research on aging focuses on three areas: metabolic and muscle aging, brain aging, and immune aging. Additionally, leveraging its proprietary AI drug discovery platform, BioAge has multiple pipelines under research, targeting indications such as obesity, neuroinflammation, acute muscle atrophy, and other aging-related diseases.

BioAge, a Richmond, California-based company founded in 2015, is dedicated to leveraging AI technology to develop innovative drugs that treat aging and age-related diseases, extending human healthspan. BioAge secretly filed its application on May 31, 2024. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, and Citigroup are the joint bookrunners for the transaction. A few months ago, BioAge raised $170 million in a funding round led by life sciences investment firm Sofinnova Investments. The company reported a loss of $26.6 million in the first half of this year, compared to a loss of $28.3 million during the same period in 2023.