Pipeline Drives Orbis Medicines to Raise EUR 90 Million in Series A Funding
Orbis Medicines, a leader in oral macrocycle drug discovery, has successfully closed a EUR 90 million Series A funding round, bringing the company’s total capital raised to EUR 116 million. This investment will fuel the development of Orbis’ innovative pipeline of next-generation oral macrocycle drugs, known as ‘nCycles.’ The Series A financing was led by NEA (New Enterprise Associates) with participation from new investors including Eli Lilly and Company, Cormorant, the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark, along with existing investors Novo Holdings and Forbion.
In a strategic move, Morten Graugaard has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Orbis Medicines. Graugaard had previously served as the Executive Chair of the company’s Board of Directors for nearly three years. With over 20 years of experience in life sciences, including venture investing, R&D, business development, and corporate strategy, Graugaard brings invaluable expertise to lead Orbis through the next phase of growth, specifically in advancing the company’s pipeline.
Orbis Medicines is focused on transforming oral macrocycle drug discovery. Macrocycles, a diverse family of compounds with highly desirable therapeutic properties, have historically been challenging to develop as oral drugs due to their size and complexity. Orbis aims to overcome these challenges by developing oral alternatives to blockbuster biologic drugs, with a focus on high-value disease targets where traditional biologic therapies fall short. The company is positioning itself to revolutionize its pipeline by providing oral macrocycles as a viable option.
“We are thrilled by the support from this remarkable group of investors, which further validates the strength of our science and the exciting potential of Orbis Medicines,” said Morten Graugaard, the newly appointed CEO. “We are advancing the potential of macrocycles by developing nCycles, an orally available drug format preferred by patients, physicians, and healthcare systems, particularly for chronic diseases. This investor interest highlights the market demand for our pipeline, with nCycles offering a novel oral approach to biologic targets and previously undruggable targets. With our rapid strategy for value creation, leveraging our nGen platform, we are excited to bring this new class of drugs to patients.”
The funding will enable Orbis to continue advancing its pipeline of nCycles. These compounds are optimized for oral bioavailability, a major hurdle in the development of macrocycle-based drugs. Orbis’ nGen platform is central to its pipeline strategy, enabling the systematic delivery of macrocycle candidates that are optimized for oral dosing. This integrated system combines automated chemistry and machine learning, allowing the rapid synthesis and analysis of up to 100,000 distinct synthetic macrocycles in just weeks. This scalability is crucial for discovering pipeline candidates with the right properties, including oral bioavailability and intracellular targeting potential.
Ed Mathers, Partner at NEA, expressed strong support for Orbis’ innovative pipeline. “The Orbis Medicines team has impressed us with the data supporting their nGen platform, which we believe is the world’s leading discovery engine for oral macrocycle drugs. We are thrilled to support Orbis’ journey to the clinic and their long-term vision of becoming a leader in the oral macrocycle field,” said Mathers. “We also congratulate Morten on his appointment as CEO after guiding the company as Chair. His expertise will be essential as Orbis continues to scale and fulfill the potential of its pipeline.”
Orbis Medicines was founded with the goal of unlocking the therapeutic potential of macrocycles, which have historically been limited to injectable biologic drugs. The company’s initial focus is on developing nCycle candidates that target the same validated targets as biologics, but in an oral form. This approach offers numerous advantages, including improved patient compliance and accessibility.
In 2024, Orbis raised EUR 26 million in a Series Seed round co-led by Novo Holdings and Forbion, setting the stage for the company’s current momentum. Orbis has also gained recognition for its scientific progress, with proof-of-concept data published in renowned journals like Nature Communications and Nature Chemical Biology. The company operates from its offices in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Lausanne, Switzerland, as it continues to drive its pipeline of oral macrocycle drugs forward.
About Orbis Medicines
Orbis Medicines is leading the charge in oral macrocycle drug discovery. The company’s proprietary nGen platform enables the generation of nCycles—synthetic macrocycle compounds optimized for oral bioavailability and membrane permeability. Orbis’ approach is highly scalable, using automated chemistry and machine learning to rapidly synthesize and analyze vast libraries of compounds. The company’s pipeline focuses on developing oral macrocycle drugs for chronic diseases, presenting novel solutions where traditional therapies have fallen short.
About nGen and nCycles
nGen is Orbis Medicines’ advanced technology platform designed to discover and generate nCycles, a new class of synthetic macrocycle compounds optimized for oral bioavailability and intracellular targeting. The nGen platform combines proprietary elements in an automated, chemistry-based system that can synthesize and analyze up to 100,000 synthetic macrocycles in a matter of weeks. This cutting-edge platform accelerates and de-risks the development of oral macrocycle drugs, positioning Orbis as an industry leader in the oral drug discovery pipeline.
Please find the related post
