Helicore Biopharma is a South San Francisco clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company building first-in-class GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) antagonists for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Its lead candidate, HCR-188, is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds circulating GIP ligand rather than the GIP receptor, a mechanism designed to improve the quality of weight loss - favoring fat loss over lean mass when paired with GLP-1 - and to restore leptin sensitivity. Incubated by Versant Ventures, the company emerged from stealth in January 2025 with a $65 million Series A and is advancing a pipeline of long-acting antibody-peptide conjugates aimed at quarterly dosing.
Omada Health is a publicly traded (Nasdaq: OMDA) virtual chronic care company that uses behavioral science, connected devices, AI tools, and human care teams to help people manage prediabetes, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, musculoskeletal conditions, and weight - including support for members on GLP-1 medications. Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, it sells to employers, health plans, and pharmacy benefit managers, serving roughly 2,000-plus customers and more than 886,000 members.
Josh Lehrer is a physician-scientist and biotech executive serving as CEO of Marea Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company harnessing human genetics to develop first-in-class medicines for cardiometabolic diseases. A cardiologist by training with degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and UCSF, Lehrer brings over two decades of drug development experience spanning Genentech, Global Blood Therapeutics (where he oversaw the FDA approval of Oxbryta for sickle cell disease), and Graphite Bio. At Marea, he has led the company from a Third Rock Ventures incubation to a $190 million-funded enterprise with two clinical-stage programs showing strong early efficacy data, including a 53% reduction in remnant cholesterol with MAR001 published in The Lancet.