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Company overview
A company built around obesity and energy metabolism
Energesis Pharmaceuticals is a Boston, Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for obesity and related metabolic diseases.
The company was founded by accomplished scientists and an experienced obesity drug development entrepreneur with the goal of creating therapies that address obesity through energy expenditure. Rather than entering the obesity field after recent market growth, Energesis has been built over years of careful research in obesity and metabolic disease.
Our mission: Energesis’ mission is to develop a new class of drugs that gives people living with obesity better options and improves public health. Its core focus is restoring a healthy level of brown fat mass and energy expenditure.
Our vision: A future where obesity is treated the way other complex diseases are, with combinations of medicines that work by distinct mechanisms.
The goal is not just weight loss, but meaningful, sustainable patient benefit.
Our story
Lessons carried forward
Dr. Freeman’s first company, Zafgen, showed remarkable efficacy for its lead drug candidate in a rare obesity disorder, but later failed in late-stage development because of safety problems with a molecule licensed from cancer research and whose mechanism of action in producing weight loss was not understood. Three lessons from this experience have helped shape Energesis.
1
Safety is paramount
In obesity, which is not immediately life-threatening, safety must come first. EGS-2632 combines two drugs with long safety records, used at a fraction of their approved doses.
2
Understand the mechanism
Brown fat biology is well understood, and Energesis knows the molecular targets of its candidates.
3
Let the science lead
Energesis advanced its science with nearly a dozen peer-reviewed grants rather than immediately seeking to bring on large investors. This allowed the team to follow the data and do what is best for patients.
Leadership, directors, and scientific advisors
Experienced leadership across obesity, metabolism, biotech, and company building
Energesis’ leadership, directors, and scientific advisors bring experience in obesity drug development, energy metabolism, biotechnology company formation, public markets, acquisitions, clinical research, and metabolic disease.
Brian Freeman, MD
Chief Executive Officer & President, Co-Founder & Director
Dr. Freeman is an entrepreneur, physician, and co-founder of Energesis. He previously co-founded Zafgen, a venture-backed company that pioneered the development of MetAP2 inhibitors for obesity, raised more than $100 million in venture capital, and became publicly traded in 2014. He also has biopharmaceutical management consulting experience from SVB Leerink, where he advised pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on strategic acquisitions, in-licensing, pipeline prioritization, and clinical development. Dr. Freeman is board-certified in neurology, trained at the University of Pennsylvania, earned his MD and master’s degree in molecular cell biology from Washington University in St. Louis, and completed his undergraduate studies at MIT.
Olivier Boss, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Co-Founder & Director
Dr. Boss is a recognized expert in energy metabolism and mitochondria. Before Energesis, he held R&D roles at Sirtris, Adipogenix, and Novartis, where he led work in diabetes, obesity, and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Dr. Boss discovered the first non-brown adipose mitochondrial uncoupling proteins UCP2 and UCP3 and helped establish Energesis’ screening platform based on newly discovered brown adipocyte progenitor cells in skeletal muscle. He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, edited a book on pharmacotherapy of obesity, and holds issued and pending patents.
Directors & scientific advisors
Mitch Sayare, PhD
Director
Dr. Sayare founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ImmunoGen, a biotechnology company focused on antibody-drug conjugates for cancer therapy that was later acquired by AbbVie. During his tenure, he led a successful IPO and raised more than $300 million in venture capital and public equity financing. He currently serves on the board of Advanced Aesthetic Technologies and as Chairman of Altimmune, a public company developing next-generation incretin agonists for obesity.
Todd Zion, PhD
Director
Dr. Zion is co-founder, President, and CEO of Akston Biosciences Corporation. He previously founded SmartCells to develop SmartInsulin, the world’s first glucose-regulated insulin for treating diabetes. SmartCells was acquired by Merck in 2010 for $500 million.
Ed Cannon, PhD
Director
Dr. Cannon is founder, President, and CEO of NovAb, Inc. He previously served in senior leadership roles at Unigen Pharmaceuticals, AerovectRx, AdipoGenix, Elixir Pharmaceuticals, Dyax Corp, and Hygeia Sciences. He has also served as a director at SmartCells, Akston Biosciences, and Diamune Therapeutics.
Eric Ravussin, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Ravussin is the Boyd Professor, Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, and Douglas L. Gordon Chair in Diabetes and Metabolism at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He is a leading expert in translational research in obesity and type 2 diabetes, with more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and decades of research experience in energy expenditure, body composition, insulin sensitivity, and metabolic health.
Frank Greenway, MD
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Greenway is Chief Medical Officer and Professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. As an endocrinologist and clinical researcher, he has served as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials sponsored by industry and the National Institutes of Health. He has contributed to the development of essentially all approved obesity drugs developed since the 1970s, has published more than 250 articles, and holds several patents.
Jean-Paul Giacobino, MD, PhD
Scientific Advisory Board & Co-Founder
Dr. Giacobino is Professor Emeritus of Medical Biochemistry at the University of Geneva Medical School. He is an expert in white and brown adipose tissue, endocrine disorders, and obesity. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and co-discovered brown adipose tissue progenitor cells in skeletal muscle, as well as thermogenic mitochondrial uncoupling proteins UCP2 and UCP3.
Validation and support
Supported by funding agencies, research partners, and industry collaborators
Energesis has received support from multiple non-dilutive funding sources, research organizations, and strategic partners.
Nearly $9.6M
We have raised nearly $9.6 million in non-dilutive funding.
Peer-Reviewed Grants
Our grant support includes funding from NIH, the U.S. Army, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Strategic Interest
We have completed two early-stage paid research partnerships with large global pharmaceutical companies, generating approximately $200,000 in revenue.
Logos and partner references describe prior support, funding, or collaboration only and do not imply endorsement of any securities offering.