i2o Therapeutics

i2o Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing oral formulations of biologic and peptide-based drugs using its proprietary ionic liquid platform technology. Founded in 2019 as a spinout from Harvard University, i2o's platform aims to enable oral delivery of therapeutics ranging from peptides to monoclonal antibodies that typically require injection. The company's technology uses ionic liquids - essentially liquid salts - to protect drug molecules from the harsh environment of the digestive system and help them cross the epithelial lining of the gastrointestinal tract.

i2o's lead program is an oral GLP-1 agonist for diabetes and obesity that is in preclinical development. The company has five other preclinical programs targeting type two diabetes, obesity, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In August 2023, i2o acquired assets from Intarcia Therapeutics, including ITCA 650, an investigational twice-yearly implantable GLP-1 agonist for type two diabetes that is scheduled for an FDA advisory committee review. The company also acquired Intarcia's Medici implant technology platform and other pipeline assets in the cardiometabolic space.

i2o has raised significant funding to advance its programs, including a USD 4 million seed round in 2020 and a USD 46 million Series A financing in 2023. The company is led by Kurt Graves, who was appointed Chairman, President and CEO in August 2023, succeeding co-founder Ravi Srinivasan.

Key customers and partnerships

i2o has established collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies to explore applications of its ionic liquid technology. In 2021, the company announced a partnership with Sanofi to enable oral delivery of nanobody-based medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. In January 2022, i2o entered into a research collaboration and option agreement with Janssen biotech to evaluate the use of ionic liquid technology for oral delivery of macromolecules. Additionally, i2o has a 4-year sponsored research and licensing agreement with the Mitragotri Lab at Harvard University to further advance ionic liquid applications and strengthen its intellectual property position.