Best Metabolic Diseases Companies in California, United States
The 107 best Metabolic Diseases companies in California, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Kriya Therapeutics.
Ranked: Best Metabolic Diseases companies in California
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Stage | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kriya Therapeutics Developer of therapeutic solutions for the treatment of diabetes 53Funding top 16%News top 24%Moat top 31%Growth top 43% All 8 signals ▾Fundingtop 16% Newstop 24% Moattop 31% Growthtop 43% Markettop 44% Talenttop 50% Globalbottom 37% Techbottom 32% Funding: Raised $618M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 7 yrs (0.6/yr) News: 5 BI events in 12 mo (of 16 tracked, 3 types) · 3 high-value events (IPO/M&A/funding/contracts) in 12 mo rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 53/100 | $618M | 10 mo ago | 159 | Shankar Ramaswamy Co-Founder & CEO | Series D | — | — |
| 2 | Carmot Developer of disease-modifying therapies to treat metabolic diseases | $401M | 36 mo ago | 50 | Heather Turner CEO | Acquired | — | — |
| 3 | ViaCyte Developer of cell therapy for the treatment of diabetes | $389M | 60 mo ago | 126 | — | Acquired | 582 patents Scalable stem cell manufacturing and encapsulated cell delivery devices for regenerative therapies | — |
| 4 | NGM Biopharmaceuticals Developer of biologics for the treatment of cardio-metabolic and liver disease | $359M | 23 mo ago | 225 | — | Public | 659 patents Therapeutic antibodies and peptide drugs targeting ILT, glucagon, and GFRAL receptors | — |
| 5 | CymaBay Therapeutics Developer of therapeutics for liver and other chronic diseases | $276M | 58 mo ago | 23 | — | Acquired | 378 patents Selective PPARδ agonist compounds for treating liver and cholestatic diseases. | — |
| 6 | Aligos Therapeutics Developer of therapies to treat hepatologic diseases and viral infections 50Patents top 12%Innovation top 16%Funding top 26%Moat top 35% All 12 signals ▾Patentstop 12% Innovationtop 16% Fundingtop 26% Moattop 35% Partnerstop 40% Techtop 42% Talenttop 45% Globaltop 46% Newstop 47% Marketbottom 46% Growthbottom 32% Fin. healthbottom 25% Patents: 503 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 389 filings since 2022 vs 114 in 2017-21 Innovation: 503 patents (top 5% of patent-holders) · 389 filings since 2022 vs 114 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 50/100 | $225M | 16 mo ago | 70 70 → 99 (+41%) | Lawrence Blatt CEO | Public | 503 patents RNA interference therapeutics and PD‑L1 immuno‑oncology using heterocyclic siRNA delivery compounds | — |
| 7 | MicuRx Pharmaceuticals Develops antibiotics against multidrug-resistant (MDR) superbug infections | $225M | 66 mo ago | 4 | Zhengyu Yuan Co-Founder & CEO | Series E | — | — |
| 8 | Vital Therapies Developer of cell-based therapy to treat acute liver failure | $216M | 147 mo ago | 18 | Terry Winters CEO/Chairman | Public | 46 patents Therapeutic biologics and extracorporeal blood detoxification platforms for inflammation and organ support | — |
| 9 | Relypsa Developer of drugs for treating cardiovascular and renal diseases | $208M | 121 mo ago | 284 | — | Acquired | 270 patents Patents concentrated in health & consumer products | — |
| 10 | Tenvie Developer of small molecule therapies for neurological, cardiometabolic, and ophthalmic diseases | $200M | 17 mo ago | — | Brian Cuneo Co-Founder & CLO | Series D | — | 4 job openings |
| 11 | Tricida Therapeutics for complications of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) | $153M | 86 mo ago | 26 | — | Public | 221 patents Oral proton-binding polymer formulations for treating acid‑base and metabolic acidosis disorders | — |
| 12 | OrsoBio Developer of therapeutics for multiple metabolic diseases | $152M | 15 mo ago | 10 | — | Series B | 45 patents Small-molecule LXR modulators and ACMSD inhibitors for dyslipidemia and metabolic disease therapy | — |
| 13 | Versartis Biopharma company developing long-acting therapeutic proteins for the treatment of endocrine disorders | $144M | 148 mo ago | 5 | Jay Shepard CEO | Public | — | — |
| 14 | Intrapace Laparoscopically inserted pacemaker to stimulate Stomach | $143M | 153 mo ago | 1 | Mir Imran Founder | Deadpooled | 154 patents Implantable gastric devices and sensor feedback systems for obesity treatment | — |
| 15 | Arthrosi Therapeutics Developer of therapeutics for gout, chronic kidney diseases, and oncology 22Funding top 26%News top 46%Moat top 48%Talent bottom 49% All 7 signals ▾Fundingtop 26% Newstop 46% Moattop 48% Talentbottom 49% Techbottom 43% Globalbottom 37% Marketbottom 24% Funding: Raised $140M across 8 rounds · 8 rounds over 8 yrs (1.0/yr) News: 2 BI events in 12 mo (of 6 tracked, 3 types) · +100% YoY rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 22/100 | $140M | 12 mo ago | 11 | Litain Yeh Co-Founder & CEO | Acquired | — | — |
| 16 | Akero Therapeutics Developer of small molecule therapeutics for metabolic disorders | $135M | 48 mo ago | 33 33 → 74 (+124%) | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 17 | Verge Genomics Developer of artificial intelligence powered platform for drug discovery and development | $134M | 54 mo ago | 46 46 → 27 (-41%) | Peyton Huang Non-Executive Director and Co-Founder | Series B | — | 1 launch · 1 partnership |
| 18 | Affymax Drug for treatment of chronic kidney disease | $131M | 207 mo ago | 72 | — | Public | 162 patents Erythropoietin receptor agonist peptides and PEGylated peptide drug delivery technologies | — |
| 19 | Metacrine Developer of protein sensitizers for insulin in type 2 diabetes and modulators for metabolic diseases | $125M | 81 mo ago | 32 | — | Public | 162 patents Small-molecule FXR agonists and HSD17B13 inhibitors for metabolic liver disease therapy | — |
| 20 | Mirum Pharmaceuticals Developer of small molecule based therapeutics to treat rare diseases 82Funding top 17%Patents top 18%Innovation top 23%Product top 28% All 12 signals ▾Fundingtop 17% Patentstop 18% Innovationtop 23% Producttop 28% Growthtop 30% Fin. healthtop 31% Markettop 33% Moattop 35% Newstop 36% Techtop 45% Talentbottom 49% Globalbottom 47% Funding: Raised $120M across 3 rounds · 3 rounds over 8 yrs (0.4/yr) Patents: 135 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 115 filings since 2022 vs 20 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 82/100 | $120M | 4 mo ago | 196 196 → 465 (+137%) | Christopher Peetz CEO | Public | 135 patents IBAT inhibitor drugs for treating cholestasis and pediatric liver disease | — |
| 21 | Ambys Medicines Developer of cell therapies to treat severe liver diseases | $107M | 54 mo ago | 61 | — | Series A | 18 patents Engineered hepatocyte production and biliary delivery systems for liver disease therapies | — |
| 22 | Crinetics Developer of therapies for the treatment of endocrine-related diseases and cancers | $104M | 27 mo ago | 120 | Scott Struthers Founder | Public | — | — |
| 23 | Ambagon Developer of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer | $103M | 16 mo ago | 49 | Luc Brunsveld Co-Founder | Series A | — | — |
| 24 | Presidio Pharmaceuticals Developer of small-molecule antiviral therapeutics | $92M | 144 mo ago | 12 | Omar Haffar Co-Founder | Series C | 177 patents Patents concentrated in chemistry & materials | — |
| 25 | Sorbent Therapeutics Trusted Australian brand providing soft, strong, and sustainable tissue products | $91M | 145 mo ago | — | Don Joseph CEO | Deadpooled | — | — |
| 26 | ReShape A dual intra-gastric balloon system for weight loss | $90M | 112 mo ago | 29 | Michael Mangano CEO | Acquired | — | — |
| 27 | BAROnova Satiety induction through endoscopically introduced Transpyloric shuttle | $78M | 126 mo ago | 1 | Hugh Narciso President & CEO | Series D | 112 patents Obesity treatment via endoscopic gastric occlusion and gastrointestinal stimulation devices. | — |
| 28 | Versanis Bio Developer of therapeutics for the treatment of obesity | $70M | 57 mo ago | 21 | — | Acquired | — | — |
| 29 | Marea Therapeutics Provider of therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases | $65M | 24 mo ago | — | Stephen Rahilly Co-Founder | Series C | — | — |
| 30 | Ocera Therapeutics Ammonia scavenger drug for patients with acute and chronic liver disease | $64M | 151 mo ago | 19 | — | Acqui-Hired | 262 patents Formulations and synthesis of l‑ornithine phenylacetate for hepatic disease therapy | — |
| 31 | Second Genome Developer of microbiome-based personalized medicine for a wide range of human health disorders | $64M | 107 mo ago | 37 | — | Deadpooled | 135 patents Therapeutic proteins/peptides targeting gut barrier and immune modulation for autism and cancer | — |
| 32 | Obalon Weight loss solutions: LAP-BAND, ReShape Vest, Obalon balloon system | $64M | 93 mo ago | 1 | — | Acqui-Hired | — | — |
| 33 | Ancora Biotech Developer of Immunotherapeutics for B cell cancers, metabolic diseases, and chronic hepatitis B infections | $60M | 48 mo ago | 12 | Ben Buelow CEO | Series A | — | — |
| 34 | MannKind Corp Developer of small-molecule drugs | $50M | 63 mo ago | 322 | Michael Castagna Chief Executive Officer | Public | 1,985 patents Dry powder inhaler devices and pulmonary drug formulation/composition technologies. | 1 internship · 1 award |
| 35 | Spruce Developer of therapies for rare endocrine disorders | $50M | 8 mo ago | 29 | Javier Szwarcberg CEO | Public | 5 patents Patents concentrated in electrical & electronics | — |
| 36 | ValenTx Adjustable Endoluminal bypass sleeve for obesity treatment | $49M | 88 mo ago | 22 | Jon Germain CEO | Deadpooled | 97 patents Minimally invasive endoluminal gastrointestinal bypass and obesity treatment devices | — |
| 37 | USGI Medical Incisionless surgical solutions improving patient lives through innovative endoluminal technologies | $46M | 84 mo ago | 36 | Scott Moonly CEO | Series E | 237 patents Surgical devices for anchoring and securing gastrointestinal implants and tissue | — |
| 38 | Siolta Therapeutics Provider of microbiome therapeutics for treating multiple diseases | $42M | 27 mo ago | 14 | Nikole Kimes Founder & CEO | Series C | — | — |
| 39 | Rejuvenate Bio Developer of gene therapies for treating chronic and age-related diseases | $15M | 23 mo ago | 39 | Noah Davidsohn Co-Founder & CSO | Series A | — | — |
| 40 | Bloom Science Developer of therapies to treat neurological diseases | $12M | 14 mo ago | 26 | Christopher Reyes CEO | Series A | — | — |
| 41 | Neurocrine Developer of small molecule therapeutics for endocrine and CNS disorders | $10M | 34 mo ago | 1,400 1,400 → 2,402 (+72%) | Kevin Gorman CEO | Acquired | 2 patents Small-molecule CRF receptor antagonists for stress-related therapeutic applications | 1 launch |
| 42 | Rila Therapeutics Provider of therapeutics for the treatments for kidney fibrosis | $7M | 18 mo ago | — | John He Co-Founder | Series A | — | — |
| 43 | Gyre Therapeutics Developer of anti-fibrotic therapeutics for a variety of chronic organ diseases | $5M | 31 mo ago | — | Han Ying CEO | Public | — | — |
| 44 | Halo Biosciences Developer of therapies by editing extracellular matrix | $5M | 14 mo ago | 12 | Andy Wardle Co-Founder & Advisor | Funding Raised | — | — |
| 45 | Tega Therapeutics Glycoscience company developing heparan sulfate therapies and enzyme replacement therapy | $4M | 7 mo ago | 7 | — | Funding Raised | — | — |
| 46 | Interface Biosciences Developer of microbiome therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases | $3M | 30 mo ago | 7 | — | Seed | — | — |
| 47 | Skye Bioscience Developer of cannabinoid-based therapies for the treatment of glaucoma and other diseases | $2M | 27 mo ago | 11 11 → 18 (+64%) | Punit Dhillon President | Public | — | — |
| 48 | Unicycive Developer of small molecule therapies for the treatment of kidney diseases | $2M | 27 mo ago | 12 12 → 24 (+100%) | — | Public | — | 1 award |
| 49 | Xcellassay Monitors drinking water for chemical pollutants, providing personalized health guidance | $307K | 16 mo ago | 4 | Fred Schaufele Co-Founder | Funding Raised | — | — |
Top 12 Metabolic Diseases companies in California
#1
Public · Menlo Park, California · founded 2018 · 196 employees$120Mraised▾
Developer of small molecule based therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company's lead product candidate Maralixibat inhibits a carrier protein called apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter for reducing systemic levels of bile acids. It is used for the treatment of both Alagille syndrome (ALGS) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis. The other product of the company Volixibat is used for the treatment of adult cholestasis.
- Jan 2026Post IPO$68.5M
- Dec 2020Post IPO$10M
- Nov 2018Series A$120M
#2
Series D · Redwood City, California · founded 2012 · 159 employees$617.6Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutic solutions for the treatment of diabetes. The company has developed AAV-based gene therapies for the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Its drug candidate KT-A112 contains insulin and glucokinase proteins that help in treating Type 1 & Type 2 diabetes mellitus. It also provides KT-A522 with glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor agonist for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, KT-A832 insulin growth factor that helps in treating diabetes mellitus.
- Jul 2025Series D$320.8M
- May 2022Series C$430M
- Jun 2021Series B$100M
- May 2020Series A$87.6M
#3
Acquired · Irvine, California · founded 2017 · 11 employees$140Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics for gout, chronic kidney diseases, and oncology. The company's proprietary drug candidate includes AR882 which is used to decrease the level of uric acid in gout patients. It works by inhibiting urate transporter 1 (URAT1), an influx transporter protein present in kidneys.
- Jun 2025Series E$153M
- Jul 2023Series D$75M
- Mar 2023Series B$15M
- Nov 2021Series B$26M
#4
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2016 · 29 employees$50Mraised▾
Developer of therapies for rare endocrine disorders. It offers a lead product tildacerfont whichis a CRF1 receptor antagonist for adult patients with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other diseases characterized by elevated levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone.
- Oct 2025Post IPO$50M
- Feb 2023Post IPO—
#5
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2018 · 70 employees$225Mraised▾
Aligos Therapeutics has developed small molecule-based therapeutics for the treatment of hepatologic diseases and viral infections. The drugs target viral nucleic acids, encoded proteins, oncogenes, and resultant proteins for the treatment. It has developed drugs to treat chronic hepatitis B, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
- Feb 2025Post IPO$105M
- Oct 2023Post IPO$92.2M
- Jan 2020Series B$125M
- 2018Series A$100M
#6
Series B · Palo Alto, California · founded 2021 · 10 employees$151.6Mraised▾
Developer of therapeutics for multiple metabolic diseases. It offer drug cangidates that target central pathways of energy metabolism which include ACC2 inhibitor TLC-3595 for type-2 diabetes, LXR inverse agonist TLC-2716 for Severe Dyslipidemias, Mitochondrial protonophore TLC-6740, and TLC-1235 for Lipodystrophies.
- Feb 2025Series B$1.7M
- Feb 2025Grant (prize money)$2.3M
- Aug 2024Series B$67M
- Oct 2023Series A$84.6M
#7
Series D · San Francisco, California · founded 2012$200Mraised▾
Developer of small molecule therapies for neurological, cardiometabolic, and ophthalmic diseases. The company advances a pipeline of wholly owned, highly CNS-penetrant and peripherally-restricted small molecules. It focuses on resolving inflammation, rescuing metabolic dysfunction, and restoring lysosomal function. The company's expertise lies in optimizing molecular delivery properties, enabling the parallel development of CNS-penetrant and peripherally-restricted small molecules to maximize patient impact across a broad array of diseases.
- Jan 2025Series D$200M
#8
Public · San Francisco, California · founded 2007 · 225 employees$358.9Mraised▾
Developer of biologics for the treatment of cardio-metabolic and liver diseases. The drug candidate NGM282 is used for the treatment of bile acid-related diseases; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. It also develops novel drug candidates for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
- Jul 2024Post IPO$142M
- Mar 2015Series D$106M
- Feb 2015Series D$57.5M
- Jul 2013Series C$50M
#9
Series A · San Francisco, California · founded 2020 · 49 employees$103Mraised▾
Developer of small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company is focusing on the development of drugs that stabilize the direct interaction of oncogenic proteins with the 14-3-3 class of adaptor proteins. Its novel approach for inhibiting oncogenic transcription factors for cancers with defined drivers.
- Jan 2025Series A$5M
- Jan 2022Series A$85M
- Nov 2021Seed$18M
#10
Funding Raised · San Diego, California · founded 2013 · 7 employees$4.1Mraised▾
Glycoscience company developing heparan sulfate therapies and enzyme replacement therapy. Specializing in glycans, the company focuses on exploiting glycoscience-related technologies for treating life-threatening diseases. The company's pipeline includes recombinant production of heparan sulfate and enzyme replacement therapy to address genetic deficiencies in heparan sulfate degradation. They are dedicated to advancing the understanding and application of complex carbohydrates in medicine, aiming to unlock the therapeutic potential of glycans. This innovative approach positions them at the forefront of glycoscience, offering hope for novel treatments in areas with unmet medical needs.
- Nov 2025Grant (prize money)$500K
- Feb 2024Grant (prize money)$355.2K
- Sep 2023Grant (prize money)$461.7K
- Feb 2022Grant (prize money)$321.9K
#11
Series A · San Diego, California · founded 2018 · 26 employees$12Mraised▾
Developer of therapies to treat neurological diseases. The company is focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing live biotherapeutics to treat unmet neurological and inflammatory diseases. The company has developed IrisRx, a best-in-class microbiome-focused drug discovery platform, for clinical treatments and therapeutic approaches.
- Apr 2025Grant (prize money)$509.9K
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)$283.7K
- Dec 2021Series A$12M
- Mar 2020Grant (prize money)$500K
#12
Funding Raised · Stanford, California · founded 2019 · 12 employees$5Mraised▾
Developer of therapies by editing extracellular matrix. The lead product H01 is a small-molecule drug that inhibits the synthesis of hyaluronan and treats respiratory conditions like ARDS. Other therapeutic H02 also inhibits hyaluronan synthesis and is in development for lung, liver, diabetes, and metabolic diseases.
- Mar 2025Grant (prize money)$3M
- May 2024Grant (prize money)$2M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Metabolic Diseases coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Biotechnology in California is moving
A read on the academic research around Biotechnology in California — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 465 papers.
California's UC system (Davis, Berkeley, Irvine) leads CRISPR and genetic engineering research across 465 papers, with breakthrough findings dominating and a cautiously optimistic stance (0.52).
- University of California, Davis74
- University of California, Berkeley57
- University of California, Irvine51
- University of California, San Francisco49
- University of California, Los Angeles43
- Gene6→18
- Transcription (linguistics)2→9
- Gene expression3→9
- Mutant2→6
- DNA methylation4→8
- Gene1→6
- DNA damage1→5
- Population1→4
- Transcriptome1→4
- Bacteria1→3
- Population2→4
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.