Junevity Raises $10M to Develop a New Obesity Drug That Preserves Muscle Mass

What’s Going On?

Obesity is a growing concern worldwide, contributing to serious health risks such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and metabolic dysfunction. Current weight-loss drugs—such as Wegovy and Saxenda—help reduce body weight but often come with significant drawbacks, including muscle loss (a risk factor for frailty and sarcopenia) and little to no improvement in metabolic health.

A new biotech startup, Junevity, is taking a different approach. Having just raised $10 million in its seed round, the company is developing a novel obesity drug that goes beyond weight loss to actively enhance metabolic function while preserving muscle mass.

What Happened?

• Junevity secured $10 million in seed funding, led by Goldcrest Capital and Godfrey Capital, with industry veterans like Brent Saunders (CEO of Bausch + Lomb) and John Bamforth (ex-Eli Lilly CMO) advising the company.

• Early mouse studies show promising results: obese mice treated with Junevity’s drug lost 30% of their body weight in 10 weeks while preserving muscle mass.

• Unlike existing drugs that rely on appetite suppression, Junevity’s treatment targets gene expression in fat cells, with the goal of restoring metabolic health at the cellular level.

How Does Junevity’s Obesity Drug Differ from the other weight-loss drugs?

Most weight-loss drugs currently on the market—such as Wegovy, Saxenda, and Ozempic—are GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that signals satiety, leading to lower food intake. While effective for weight loss, they do not actively improve metabolic function and can lead to muscle loss, which raises concerns about long-term health outcomes, especially for aging populations.

Junevity’s drug, by contrast, does not rely on appetite suppression. Instead, it uses siRNA (small interfering RNA) technology to reprogram fat cells at the genetic level, enhancing metabolic function while preserving muscle mass.

As Junevity’s CEO emphasized in an interview with Endpoints, the startup is not just developing another weight-loss drug, but a longevity drug—one that aims to restore metabolic health rather than simply reduce body weight.

This distinction matters. If successful, Junevity’s approach could mean that obesity and metabolic dysfunction can be reversed at the cellular level rather than requiring continuous pharmacological intervention. However, while its effects are expected to be longer-lasting than GLP-1 agonists, metabolic dysfunction is often influenced by lifestyle and other biological factors. It is likely that some patients would need re-administration of the drug over time.

Why This Matters for Longevity

• Junevity’s approach to “rejuvenating” fat cells could be a game-changer, potentially addressing not just obesity, but metabolic aging itself.

• Current weight-loss drugs may reduce mortality risks but don’t necessarily enhance long-term health—losing muscle mass can increase frailty and lower quality of life in older adults.

• If Junevity’s siRNA-based intervention proves effective in humans, it could pave the way for a new class of metabolic longevity treatments that go beyond weight loss and actively restore metabolic health at the cellular level.

Our Take

Junevity is part of a growing movement in longevity biotech aiming to treat metabolic dysfunction at its core, rather than just managing symptoms. Their use of siRNA to reprogram fat cells and enhance metabolic health is an exciting approach with the potential for far-reaching impact beyond obesity.

With clinical trials expected by 2026, Junevity’s work could reshape obesity treatment and metabolic longevity. But the road ahead is still uncertain. The big questions remain:

• Could genetic reprogramming interventions like this siRNA therapy make it possible to stay metabolically “young” for life?

• If Juvenity is successful in addressing obesity by rejuvenating adipose tissue, could this pave the way for the FDA to consider metabolic aging as a clinical end point?

Junevity’s next steps will be critical in determining whether this new paradigm in metabolic medicine can deliver on its promise.