Syntis Bio Secures $33 Million to Advance Oral Weight Loss Therapies
Krissy Vann | Host, All Things Fitness and Wellness
Syntis Bio has raised $33 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The financing, led by Cerberus Ventures with participation from several new and existing investors, will help accelerate development of oral, non-invasive therapies for weight loss and metabolic health. The company also received up to $5 million in non-dilutive grant funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Syntis is developing SYNT, a proprietary oral platform that delivers a temporary polymer coating to the small intestine. This approach controls nutrient absorption, enhances gut-based enzyme effectiveness, and improves drug uptake for up to 24 hours. The lead program, SYNT-101, is being studied as a once-daily treatment for obesity. A second program, SYNT-202, is focused on a rare pediatric disorder known as homocystinuria.
“We’re grateful for the continued support and enthusiasm of our new and existing investors, who share our vision to revolutionize both chronic and rare disease treatment through safe, effective oral therapies,” said Rahul Dhanda, CEO and co-founder of Syntis Bio. “This oversubscribed Series A round coupled with these non-dilutive grants validates and accelerates the promise of SYNT-101 in obesity and, more broadly, our SYNT platform technology to unlock the small intestine’s full therapeutic potential to meaningfully improve human health.”
Joining the company’s board of directors are Chenny Zhang, director at Cerberus Ventures, and Michael Nannizzi, director of investments at W. R. Berkley. Ms. Zhang highlighted the platform’s potential to address rising access challenges in healthcare. “While high-cost, complex development processes continue to limit many Americans’ access to essential medicines, Syntis’ SYNT platform represents a fundamentally novel approach to the oral delivery of biologics,” she said. “We believe SYNT, with its breakthrough technology and platform potential, is poised to significantly expand patient access and redefine what is possible in drug delivery.”
For leaders in the fitness and wellness sector, Syntis represents part of a growing trend: pharmaceutical innovation targeting obesity with alternatives to injectables. As oral treatments move closer to market, this could reshape how weight loss is discussed, delivered, and supported within fitness businesses.
