89bio

About 89bio

89bio, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with research and development operations in Herzliya, Israel. The company was established by founding investors OrbiMed Israel and OrbiMed US to focus on developing therapies for liver and cardiometabolic diseases. Upon its inception, 89bio acquired assets, including its lead candidate, from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Rohan Palekar, a seasoned executive with over 30 years in the biopharmaceutical industry, has led the company as CEO since its formation in 2018. His extensive experience includes leadership roles at Avanir Pharmaceuticals, Medivation, and Johnson & Johnson, providing a strong background in guiding companies through critical drug development and commercialization phases.

The company's business model is centered on the research and development of its pipeline, with the primary goal of achieving regulatory approval and commercialization for its drug candidates. As a clinical-stage entity, 89bio does not currently generate revenue from product sales; its operations are funded through financing activities and strategic collaborations. The core of 89bio's operational framework involves managing clinical trials, engaging with regulatory bodies like the FDA and EMA, and developing a commercialization strategy.

89bio's lead product candidate is pegozafermin (formerly BIO89-100), an investigational FGF21 (fibroblast growth factor 21) analog. This therapeutic is being developed for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and severe hypertriglyceridemia (SHTG). Pegozafermin is engineered using a proprietary glycoPEGylation technology designed to prolong the half-life of the native FGF21 hormone, which plays a key role in regulating metabolism. This allows for less frequent dosing, potentially weekly or every two weeks. Pegozafermin aims to address the underlying metabolic issues driving liver and cardiometabolic diseases by reducing lipids, inflammation, and fibrosis while improving insulin resistance. Clinical trials have shown that pegozafermin can lead to improvements in liver histology and a reduction in liver fat. The company is advancing pegozafermin through a comprehensive global Phase 3 program, ENLIGHTEN, for MASH, including patients with compensated cirrhosis (F4).