Rani Therapeutics Lands $1.085B Chugai Deal, Raises $60.3M, Starts Phase 1 RT-114 Trial
Rani Therapeutics secured up to $1.085 billion collaboration with Chugai and raised $60.3 million in an oversubscribed private placement that converted $6 million of debt. The company launched a Phase 1 trial of its oral GLP-1/GLP-2 dual agonist RT-114 after confirming bioequivalence in preclinical studies.
1. Collaboration with Chugai
Rani Therapeutics entered a collaboration and license agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical worth up to $1.085 billion to develop oral therapies using the RaniPill® platform with Chugai’s rare disease antibody, with an option to expand to five additional drug targets over the partnership’s term.
2. Oversubscribed Private Placement and Debt Repayment
In October 2025 Rani closed a $60.3 million oversubscribed private placement led by Samsara BioCapital, converting $6 million of debt. In December the company fully settled its obligations to Avenue Venture Opportunities Fund by repaying $6.2 million of principal, $1.7 million of interest and fees, leaving it debt-free.
3. Preclinical Oral Delivery Success
Preclinical studies demonstrated that oral semaglutide (RT-116) delivered via the RaniPill® achieved comparable bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and weight loss to subcutaneous administration without serious adverse events, while RT-114, a bispecific GLP-1/GLP-2 dual agonist, showed 111 percent relative bioavailability versus injectable PG-102.
4. Phase 1 Trial Initiation
In December 2025 Rani initiated a Phase 1 study of RT-114 in collaboration with ProGen to assess safety, tolerability, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single and multiple oral doses, marking the first clinical evaluation of its dual agonist delivered via the RaniPill® platform.