Moonwalk Biosciences Closes Oversubscribed $70 Million Series B With Eli Lilly Participation to Advance Adipose-Targeted RNAi (MW101) Toward Late-2027 First-in-Human for Obesity
Moonwalk Biosciences announced Tuesday September 8, 2026 an oversubscribed $70 million Series B financing to advance first-in-class adipose tissue-targeted RNA interference (RNAi) medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The round was co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, and existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Future Ventures. Proceeds will move lead candidate MW101 toward first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027 and support the broader adipose-targeted siRNA pipeline. Moonwalk's approach uses siRNA delivery specifically to adipose tissue to modulate non-incretin pathways governing energy homeostasis, adipogenesis, lipolysis, and thermogenesis while minimizing systemic effects. The company claims preclinical models show reductions in body weight and fat mass with lean-muscle preservation — the same value proposition Enveda's ENV-308 and Amgen's MariTide are pitching from different mechanisms. Lilly's investor participation extends the Lilly obesity-adjacent equity portfolio that already includes stakes in Superluminal Medicines (MC4R agonist, $60M Series B September 3), Verve Therapeutics (base editing, acquired 2025), and others.