# 9 Meters Biopharma

9 Meters Biopharma, Inc. was a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in [Raleigh, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/raleigh-north-carolina), that developed treatments for rare gastrointestinal diseases, principally short bowel syndrome and celiac disease, and it ceased operations and filed for Chapter 7 liquidation on July 17, 2023.<sup>[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)</sup> The company was created on April 30, 2020, when Nasdaq-listed Innovate Biopharmaceuticals (then ticker INNT) merged with privately held RDD Pharma and renamed itself 9 Meters Biopharma, trading as NMTR from May 4, 2020.<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup> Its legal entity, however, traced back through several earlier names to a shell company first registered as Tandon Digital in 2012.<sup>[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/0000930413-23-001864.txt)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal entity lineage | Tandon Digital, Inc. (name change June 11, 2012) → Monster Digital, Inc. (September 30, 2015) → Innovate Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (February 1, 2018) → 9 Meters Biopharma, Inc.<sup>[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/0000930413-23-001864.txt)</sup> |
| Headquarters and listing | Raleigh, North Carolina<sup>[8](https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2023/12/12/9meters-biopharma-bankruptcy-assets-bid.html)</sup>; Delaware-incorporated, SIC 2834 (pharmaceutical preparations); Nasdaq ticker NMTR from May 4, 2020<sup>[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/0000930413-23-001864.txt)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup> |
| Lead programs | Vurolenatide (NM-002), a long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist for short bowel syndrome, advanced to Phase 3; larazotide, a tight junction regulator, reached Phase 3 in celiac disease<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-23-000038.htm)</sup> |
| Notable financings | ~$22 million OrbiMed-led merger financing (2020); $31.5 million net proceeds from an April 2021 public offering; $47.0 million cash at end-2021<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)</sup> |
| Outcome | Ceased operations and filed Chapter 7 on July 17, 2023 (Case 5:23-bk-01992, Eastern District of North Carolina); Nasdaq trading suspended July 26, 2023<sup>[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/49612458/9_Meters_Biopharma,_Inc)</sup> |

## From shell company to Nasdaq biotech

The Delaware entity later known as 9 Meters Biopharma began as Tandon Digital, Inc., renamed Monster Digital, Inc. on September 30, 2015, and then Innovate Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. on February 1, 2018, according to SEC EDGAR's former-name records.<sup>[3](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/0000930413-23-001864.txt)</sup> Innovate Biopharmaceuticals listed on Nasdaq and developed larazotide for celiac disease. The decisive transformation came on April 30, 2020, when Innovate completed a merger with privately held RDD Pharma, adopted the name 9 Meters Biopharma, and began trading under NMTR on May 4, 2020.<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup> The company described itself as a rare, orphan, and unmet-needs gastrointestinal company. John Temperato served as [President](https://www.edgepedia.org/president-corporate-title) and Chief Executive Officer at its creation.<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup>

The merger brought two clinical programs into the public company: NM-002, a proprietary long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist entering Phase 2 for short bowel syndrome (later named vurolenatide), and larazotide, a Phase 3 tight junction regulator for non-responsive celiac disease.<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup>

## Pipeline and clinical programs

**Vurolenatide (NM-002)** was the company's lead asset for short bowel syndrome. By March 2023, the company described a Phase 3 program, VIBRANT 2, evaluating vurolenatide at 50 mg administered subcutaneously every two weeks in adults with short bowel syndrome.<sup>[4](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-23-000038.htm)</sup> Approximately 120 patients were to be enrolled, with an interim analysis when 50 percent of patients reached 24 weeks; in March 2023 the company received additional FDA clarifying comments on the protocol and adopted a continuous variable endpoint and a 24-week study duration for both patient subgroups.<sup>[4](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-23-000038.htm)</sup>

**Larazotide** was a tight junction regulator aimed at celiac disease, the company's other lead program. The drug failed its Phase 3 trial in celiac disease in 2022, after which 9 Meters pivoted it toward COVID-related conditions, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and long COVID.<sup>[7](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/9-meters-calls-it-quits-after-measuring-options-reports-just-150k-cash)</sup> The company also paid $5 million upfront (40 percent cash, 60 percent equity in the form of 2,417,211 unregistered shares), with contingent milestone payments totaling $45.5 million for a single indication and up to $58.0 million across indications, plus up to $50.0 million in sales milestones and a mid-single-digit royalty, to in-license an additional asset.<sup>[5](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)</sup>

## Funding by the numbers

The company's financing record combined public offerings with the merger financing:

- On closing the RDD merger in May 2020, the company sold 382,779 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, which converted into 38,277,900 common shares on June 30, 2020, alongside preferred warrants, in the RDD Merger Financing.<sup>[5](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)</sup> The concurrent new financing was announced at approximately $22 million, led by [OrbiMed Advisors](https://www.edgepedia.org/orbimed-advisors), LLC, with units of preferred stock and warrants priced at $0.5894 per unit on an as-converted basis.<sup>[2](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)</sup>
- A public offering of common stock that closed in April 2021 delivered net proceeds of $31.5 million.<sup>[5](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)</sup>
- 9 Meters ended 2021 with $47.0 million in cash, which management said would fund operations into the second quarter of 2023.<sup>[5](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)</sup>

In March 2023, management reported that it had strengthened the balance sheet with an equity financing and implemented cost-saving measures to extend its cash runway, citing challenging financial markets for small-cap pharmaceutical companies.<sup>[4](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-23-000038.htm)</sup>

## Decline and bankruptcy

The company's two lead programs faltered in succession: larazotide's Phase 3 celiac trial failed in 2022.<sup>[7](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/9-meters-calls-it-quits-after-measuring-options-reports-just-150k-cash)</sup> Vurolenatide then stalled in the clinic: in late May 2023 the company announced that, after a conversation with U.S. regulators, it considered the drug likely best tested in a different setting.<sup>[7](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/9-meters-calls-it-quits-after-measuring-options-reports-just-150k-cash)</sup> With both pivotal programs without a clear path, Nasdaq compliance pressures mounted. A notice received March 31, 2023, cited failures to meet the minimum $2,500,000 stockholders' equity requirement (Listing Rule 5550(b)(1)) and the minimum bid price requirement (Listing Rule 5550(a)(2)).<sup>[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)</sup>

On July 17, 2023, after considering all strategic alternatives, 9 Meters Biopharma and its subsidiaries ceased operations and filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Case No. 23-01992-5-PWM.<sup>[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)</sup> The docket shows a Statement of Financial Affairs filed by bankruptcy attorney John A. Northen on the company's behalf that same day.<sup>[6](https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/49612458/9_Meters_Biopharma,_Inc)</sup> Under Chapter 7, a trustee assumed control of the assets and liabilities, displacing the authority of the board and executive officers, with assets to be liquidated and claims paid under the Bankruptcy Code.<sup>[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)</sup> Nasdaq suspended trading at the opening of business on July 26, 2023, and filed a Form 25-NSE to remove the securities from listing.<sup>[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)</sup>

The cash position at filing illustrated the speed of the collapse: the company reported roughly $152,000 in cash on hand plus about $4 million in intangibles and intellectual property in its court filing, having reported $6.9 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of March 2023.<sup>[7](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/9-meters-calls-it-quits-after-measuring-options-reports-just-150k-cash)</sup> The company had said at the end of 2021 that its $47.0 million in cash would last into the second quarter of 2023.<sup>[5](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)</sup>

## Aftermath and recent developments

The Chapter 7 trustee continued to market the defunct company's drug platform assets after the wind-down. In December 2023, the Triangle Business Journal reported that a new lead bidder had emerged in the bankruptcy sale of the Raleigh company's assets.<sup>[8](https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2023/12/12/9meters-biopharma-bankruptcy-assets-bid.html)</sup>

## References

1. [9 Meters Biopharma Form 8-K – Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filing (July 2023)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/c106716_8k-ixbrl.htm)
2. [9 Meters Biopharma Created with Merger of Innovate Biopharmaceuticals and RDD Pharma (press release, April 30, 2020)](https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/9-meters-biopharma-a-rare-orphan-and-unmet-needs-gi-focused-company-is-587899)
3. [SEC EDGAR company record for 9 Meters Biopharma (CIK 0001551986), former conformed names](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551986/000093041323001864/0000930413-23-001864.txt)
4. [9 Meters Biopharma Q4 and Full Year 2022 Business Update, March 28, 2023 (via Last10K)](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-23-000038.htm)
5. [9 Meters Biopharma 10-K / Q4 2021 reporting (via Last10K)](https://last10k.com/sec-filings/nmtr/0001551986-22-000030.htm)
6. [PacerMonitor: 9 Meters Biopharma, Inc. Bankruptcy (5:23-bk-01992), N.C. Eastern Bankruptcy Court](https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/49612458/9_Meters_Biopharma,_Inc)
7. [Fierce Biotech: 9 Meters calls it quits after measuring options, reports just $150K cash](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/9-meters-calls-it-quits-after-measuring-options-reports-just-150k-cash)
8. [Triangle Business Journal: New bidder emerges for 9 Meters drug platform in bankruptcy sale (Dec 12, 2023)](https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2023/12/12/9meters-biopharma-bankruptcy-assets-bid.html)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Business and work › Business and work overview › Companies and corporations › Venture-backed startups and growth companies › Health, biotech, and medtech startups › Biologics and antibody developers › Rare disease and hematology biologics*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license