Kalohexis Spins Out to 'Reset Metabolism' in Obesity and Cachexia

NORTHBROOK, Ill. – March 19, 2026 – In a strategic move poised to challenge the burgeoning metabolic disease market, Endevica Bio today announced the launch of Kalohexis, a new clinical-stage biotechnology company. The spinout will focus exclusively on advancing a novel class of therapeutics that harness the body's own "metabolic thermostat"—the melanocortin system—to treat conditions at opposite ends of the metabolic spectrum: obesity and cancer-related wasting disease.

Kalohexis launches with two lead programs inherited from its parent company: an oral drug for obesity, 710GO, that promises healthier weight loss without the side effects plaguing current blockbusters, and mifomelatide, a drug for the devastating muscle-wasting syndrome known as cachexia, which is already in mid-stage clinical trials. The entire leadership team from Endevica Bio, a company known for its AI-assisted peptide drug design, will now steer Kalohexis, aiming to accelerate these promising candidates toward the clinic and market.

Reprogramming the Body's Metabolic Set-Point

At the heart of Kalohexis's strategy is the melanocortin (MC) system, a central command center in the brain that regulates energy balance, appetite, and body weight. The company describes this system as a natural thermostat that the body constantly works to maintain. While current leading obesity treatments, like the popular GLP-1 receptor agonists from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, primarily work by suppressing appetite, Kalohexis aims to fundamentally reprogram this metabolic set-point.

"The melanocortin system is the body's natural regulator of metabolic homeostasis, a powerful and underutilized therapeutic axis that has been misunderstood and suboptimally targeted in the past," said Russell Potterfield, who will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Kalohexis. "With more than a decade of expertise in MC biology, Endevica Bio identified the molecular properties necessary to optimize therapeutic windows."

The company's lead obesity candidate, 710GO, is a novel, orally administered dual agonist that activates two key receptors, MC3R and MC4R, to effectively "turn up" the metabolic thermostat. This approach, the company argues, leads to a higher quality and more durable form of weight loss. Preclinical studies in obese non-human primates appear to support these claims, showing an average weight reduction of 11.7% over 13 weeks.

Crucially, this weight loss came without the drawbacks commonly associated with GLP-1 drugs. In the primate studies, less than 10% of the total weight lost was lean muscle mass, a stark contrast to the 20-50% muscle loss reported with some GLP-1 treatments. Furthermore, the animals showed no signs of gastrointestinal distress, and upon stopping the treatment, they regained only 34% of the lost weight over six weeks. This is a significant improvement over the rapid and often complete weight rebound seen with GLP-1s.

"710GO has the potential to be a healthier, more durable obesity treatment than current standard of care because rather than just suppressing appetite, it changes the body's metabolic set-point," explained Dr. Daniel Marks, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at Kalohexis. He noted that this profile could make 710GO a powerful standalone therapy or a complementary treatment. A 19-day combination study in primates showed that 710GO paired with the GLP-1 agonist semaglutide nearly doubled the weight loss compared to semaglutide alone (6.5% vs. 3.0%). Kalohexis plans to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1 trial for 710GO in the first half of 2026.

A Calculated Entry into a Crowded Market

The spinout of Kalohexis is a calculated maneuver to capture a slice of the colossal anti-obesity drug market, a sector projected to soar past $60 billion in the U.S. alone by 2034. By creating a focused entity, the company can better attract specialized investors and dedicate all its resources to navigating the complex clinical and regulatory pathways for metabolic drugs.

While giants like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly dominate the landscape with injectable drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, Kalohexis is betting that differentiation will be its key to success. The prospect of an oral pill with a superior safety profile—particularly regarding muscle preservation and gastrointestinal tolerance—could be highly attractive to both patients and physicians. The issue of muscle loss is a growing concern with current therapies, as it can negatively impact long-term metabolic health and physical function, especially in older adults.

The creation of a specialized company allows Kalohexis to move with greater agility in this fast-paced environment. This focused approach is critical for a smaller player aiming to compete with pharmaceutical titans that are pouring billions into R&D and manufacturing to secure their market positions.

Addressing the Unmet Need in Cancer Cachexia

Beyond the high-profile obesity race, Kalohexis's pipeline demonstrates the versatility of its scientific platform by tackling cancer cachexia, a debilitating and often fatal condition. Cachexia is a complex wasting syndrome characterized by severe loss of weight, muscle, and fat, which can dramatically weaken patients and limit their ability to tolerate cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

Here, the company's approach is inverted. Its second lead asset, mifomelatide, is a dual MC3R/MC4R antagonist designed to "turn down" a metabolic thermostat that is running dangerously hot. By blocking these receptors, the drug aims to restore appetite and stabilize body weight.

Mifomelatide is already in a Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT06937177), which began in mid-2025, evaluating its efficacy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. A prior Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers found the drug to be well-tolerated and associated with a modest increase in hunger and body weight.

"Our research on the MC system originated with our focus on developing a treatment for cancer cachexia," said Dr. Marks. "After discovering how to successfully dial the thermostat down with a MC3R/MC4R antagonist, we recognized that with a few molecular modifications, we could also design a MC3R/MC4R agonist to turn the thermostat up as a potential treatment for obesity."

This dual-pronged strategy—addressing both over- and under-active metabolic states—sets Kalohexis apart and highlights the potential breadth of its technology. The cancer cachexia market, while smaller than obesity's, represents a significant unmet medical need, with global sales projected to exceed $3.6 billion by 2031.

With its lead programs targeting two major metabolic disorders and a vision for broader applications, Kalohexis is positioning itself as a significant new player in metabolic medicine. The company's pipeline also includes selective agonists with potential in type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), sarcopenia, and polycystic ovary syndrome. As Potterfield stated, "By targeting the melanocortin system in a differentiated way, our portfolio of first- and best-in-class drugs offers new hope to millions of people suffering with metabolic diseases."