Weight-loss start-up emerges from stealth

A Bay Area start-up with $65 million in series A financing has emerged from stealth. Helicore Biopharma, founded last year, secured funds from several investors to clinically test its lead candidate, a monoclonal antibody for weight loss and related conditions. The molecule targets the gut hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide and results in increased satiety, reduced food consumption, and lower body mass, Helicore CEO Gerrit Klaerner says. Helicore expects data from its first human clinical trials in the second half of the year.