Vaxess Technologies has raised $50m and announced that it will now go by the name Terrestrial Bio, in a rebrand that reflects the shifting nature of the company’s business operations.
Terrestrial’s Series C financing round was led by RA Capital. Venture capital (VC) firms Engine Ventures, GHIC, and SiteGround also participated.
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Terrestrial’s lead product is comprised of a patch resembling an adhesive bandage that is applied with a preloaded applicator and removed after a few minutes. Once applied, each patch delivers bioactive tips into the skin, which dissolve into the body to release their therapeutic payload.
According to Terrestrial, the rebrand from Vaxess reflects its strategic focus on “transforming the delivery and accessibility of therapies”. The company plans to start applying its microarray patch (MAP) and applicator platform with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs).
In Terrestrial’s recent GLP-1RA human factors study, the majority of participants expressed a preference for the patch applicator over traditional injection devices.
“In recent years, it became clear that our company name should more clearly reflect our focus on therapies and patient-centred delivery,” explained Terrestrial’s CEO, Rachel Sha.
“Healthcare has become increasingly consumerised, with patient experience and access playing a growing role in how people choose therapies. The Terrestrial name reflects the company’s ambition to make therapeutics more patient-friendly for people around the world, while also pointing to the skin or surface-based nature of our proprietary microarray patch technology,” Sha continued.
The shifting nature of GLP-1RA administration
While it remains unclear what impact MAP technology for GLP-1RA administration will have on the drug, GlobalData analysis suggests that revenues for injectable obesity drugs from big players in the weight loss space, such as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, are set to enter a plateau phase.
Instead, oral formulations of GLP-1RAs are an emerging focus. In December 2025, Novo Nordisk’s oral formulation of Wegovy (semaglutide) became the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved GLP-1RA pill for chronic weight management.
According to GlobalData analysis, injectable Wegovy sales are projected to rise from $13bn in 2026 to $15.9bn in 2030, before declining marginally to $15.8bn in 2031.
Meanwhile, GlobalData analysts highlight that the Wegovy pill emerges as the key incremental growth driver. with total portfolio sales projected to increase by $5.4bn, from $13.5bn to $18.9bn, between 2026 and 2031.
