Verdiva Bio Highlights Promising Preclinical Obesity Drug Candidates at ADA 2026
Verdiva Bio, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing scalable, once-weekly oral therapies for obesity, has unveiled new preclinical data for two investigational drug candidates at the 86th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in New Orleans. The findings underscore the company’s efforts to build a differentiated obesity treatment portfolio that combines efficacy, convenience, and improved tolerability.
The newly presented data focus on VRB-103, a once-weekly oral amylin receptor-selective analog, and VRB-104, a novel unimolecular dual agonist targeting both amylin and GLP-1 receptors. Both candidates are designed to address growing demand for next-generation obesity therapies that can deliver meaningful weight reduction while minimizing treatment-related side effects.
According to Verdiva Bio, the preclinical results demonstrate strong receptor activity, favorable selectivity profiles, and encouraging efficacy outcomes that support continued development of both programs.
Expanding a Differentiated Obesity Pipeline
Obesity remains one of the most significant global health challenges, contributing to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and numerous other chronic conditions. While GLP-1-based therapies have transformed obesity treatment in recent years, researchers continue to seek approaches that can further enhance efficacy, improve patient adherence, and reduce gastrointestinal side effects often associated with these medicines.
Verdiva Bio believes its oral, once-weekly platform could provide a more convenient alternative to injectable therapies while leveraging multiple biological pathways involved in appetite regulation and metabolism.
Dr. Jane Hughes, President of Research and Development at Verdiva Bio, said the newly presented data demonstrate the breadth of the company’s obesity portfolio and its potential to develop differentiated treatments for diverse patient populations.
She noted that VRB-103 showed both high potency and a strong degree of selectivity for human amylin receptors, characteristics that may translate into improved efficacy and tolerability compared with less selective amylin-based therapies. Meanwhile, the dual-action profile of VRB-104 could potentially offer enhanced weight-loss benefits while maintaining a favorable safety profile.
VRB-103 Demonstrates Strong Amylin Receptor Selectivity
One of the featured presentations at ADA 2026 highlighted VRB-103, an investigational oral amylin analog currently in preclinical development.
Amylin is a naturally occurring peptide hormone that works alongside insulin to regulate metabolism. It helps reduce appetite, slows gastric emptying, and suppresses glucagon release, making it an attractive target for obesity treatment. Amylin exerts its effects through activation of human amylin receptors, which are formed by the calcitonin receptor combined with receptor activity-modifying proteins.
Researchers evaluated VRB-103 against existing amylin-based compounds, including eloralintide and cagrilintide, to determine its potency and receptor selectivity.
The study demonstrated that VRB-103 exhibited greater potency than both comparator molecules across all three major human amylin receptor subtypes.
Investigators reported EC50 values of:
- 0.091 nM for hAMY1R
- 0.205 nM for hAMY2R
- 0.009 nM for hAMY3R
These findings suggest that VRB-103 can activate amylin receptors at very low concentrations, indicating strong biological activity.
Beyond potency, researchers emphasized the candidate’s receptor selectivity. Selectivity is considered an important characteristic because it may influence both efficacy and side-effect profiles.
When normalized against cagrilintide, VRB-103 demonstrated significantly greater activation of amylin receptors relative to the calcitonin receptor. Specifically, the compound showed:
- 13.7-fold higher selectivity for hAMY1R versus hCTR
- 4.2-fold higher selectivity for hAMY2R versus hCTR
- 4.8-fold higher selectivity for hAMY3R versus hCTR
By comparison, eloralintide displayed lower selectivity across these receptor subtypes.
According to Verdiva Bio, these results indicate that VRB-103 possesses a stronger preference for amylin receptor activation than currently available comparator molecules. Such selectivity could potentially support improved therapeutic outcomes while reducing unwanted receptor interactions.
Oral Weekly Therapy Could Improve Convenience
Another notable aspect of VRB-103 is its oral formulation.
Many obesity therapies currently available or in development require regular injections. Verdiva Bio is pursuing a once-weekly oral tablet approach designed to simplify treatment and potentially improve patient adherence.
The company reported that VRB-103 demonstrated oral bioavailability in preclinical studies, supporting the feasibility of weekly oral administration.
Verdiva Bio plans to advance VRB-103 into clinical development during the second half of 2026. The program is expected to be evaluated both as a standalone treatment and in combination with VRB-101, the company’s once-weekly oral GLP-1 analog that is currently in Phase 2 clinical development.
The combination strategy reflects growing interest in targeting multiple hormonal pathways involved in appetite control and weight management.
VRB-104 Combines Amylin and GLP-1 Activity
A second ADA presentation focused on VRB-104, a novel unimolecular dual agonist designed to activate both amylin and GLP-1 receptors.
The rationale behind this approach stems from the complementary actions of the two hormones. Both GLP-1 and amylin reduce appetite, slow gastric emptying, and decrease glucagon secretion. Previous research has shown that combining the pathways can produce greater weight loss and improved metabolic control compared with activating either pathway alone.
Verdiva Bio’s goal with VRB-104 is to integrate both mechanisms into a single molecule while carefully balancing receptor activity.
The company reported that the candidate demonstrated a unique pharmacological profile in laboratory studies.
Compared with amycretin, VRB-104 showed:
- Nearly three-fold greater potency at the human AMY3 receptor
- Approximately nine-fold lower potency at the GLP-1 receptor
Researchers intentionally engineered this balance to favor amylin activity while reducing the intensity of GLP-1 receptor stimulation.
According to Verdiva Bio, this design strategy aims to maintain strong weight-loss efficacy while potentially lowering the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse events that are commonly associated with GLP-1 therapies.
Encouraging Weight-Loss Results in Preclinical Models
Beyond receptor studies, VRB-104 also demonstrated promising efficacy in animal models of obesity.
In a diet-induced obesity model, daily treatment with VRB-104 for 14 days resulted in substantial reductions in body weight.
Animals receiving the investigational therapy experienced a 14% reduction in body weight from baseline. In contrast, animals receiving a vehicle control experienced approximately 1% weight gain over the same period.
The magnitude of weight loss observed in the study suggests that the dual agonist approach may effectively engage multiple biological mechanisms involved in energy balance and appetite regulation.
Researchers believe these findings provide further evidence supporting continued development of the candidate.
Building the Next Generation of Obesity Treatments
The obesity treatment landscape has evolved rapidly over the past several years, driven largely by the success of GLP-1 receptor agonists. However, industry leaders continue to explore ways to improve upon existing therapies through novel mechanisms, combination approaches, and more convenient dosing options.
Verdiva Bio’s pipeline reflects several of these trends simultaneously.
VRB-103 seeks to harness the benefits of selective amylin receptor activation in a once-weekly oral tablet, while VRB-104 aims to deliver synergistic activity through combined amylin and GLP-1 receptor engagement.
The company believes both candidates could help address limitations associated with current treatment options and potentially expand therapeutic choices for patients living with obesity.
The positive preclinical data presented at ADA 2026 mark an important milestone for the company as it prepares to advance these programs toward clinical evaluation.
With VRB-103 expected to enter human studies later this year and continued development planned for VRB-104, Verdiva Bio is positioning itself among the growing number of biotechnology companies seeking to shape the future of obesity care through innovative hormone-based therapies.
As obesity rates continue to rise globally, the demand for effective, convenient, and well-tolerated treatments remains strong. The latest findings from Verdiva Bio suggest that its next-generation oral and dual-mechanism candidates may offer promising new approaches to meeting that need.
This version is rewritten in a news-style format and exceeds 1,000 words while maintaining the key scientific and clinical details from the original announcement.
About Verdiva Bio
Verdiva Bio is a clinical‑stage biotechnology company advancing a scalable, once-weekly oral obesity product pipeline designed to address both induction and long-term maintenance of weight loss across a broad range of patient segments. Verdiva Bio believes that there is an unmet need in the obesity market for medications that are patient friendly, while maintaining or exceeding existing efficacy. Leveraging T2026, an oral absorption enhancer, and rationally designed peptides, Verdiva Bio’s strategy is to develop a modular portfolio of therapies to address unmet needs across a range of newly emerging and diverse segments in the obesity market, including patients of various BMI groups, patients seeking weight loss induction and weight loss maintenance, and patients who may be GLP-1 intolerant or GLP-1 non-responsive. Verdiva Bio’s once-weekly oral product candidates are designed to enable effective treatment alternatives with improved convenience and improved tolerability over other currently available therapies, while also enabling scalable manufacturing to help meet the vast needs of patients suffering from obesity and overweight. In October 2024, Sciwind Biosciences granted Verdiva Bio exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize its pipeline, including VRB-103 and VRB-104, worldwide, excluding mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea.
