Aardvark Therapeutics Inc. has announced an $85 million oversubscribed Series C financing led by Decheng Capital, with participation from Cormorant Asset Management, Surveyor Capital, SymBiosis, Tetragon Financial Group, Walleye Capital, Laurion Capital Management, LG Technology Ventures, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Silver Arc Private Capital, The Prader-Willi Syndrome Association – USA, and existing investors, including Vickers Venture Partners and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. 
 
Aardvark intends to use the proceeds from the financing to complete the clinical trials required for regulatory approval of Aardvark’s lead asset, ARD-101, for the treatment of hyperphagia in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome, demonstrate ARD-101’s complementary mechanism of action to the current GLP-1 therapies in the treatment of obesity and advance other Aardvark pipeline programs.
 
Aardvark Therapeutics CEO, Tien Lee, M.D., commented: “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 signaling. 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. We are excited that our new and existing investors share our vision of ARD-101’s potential therapeutic impact and the relevance of TAS2R receptors as unique pharmaceutical targets.”