# Galmed Pharmaceuticals

Galmed Pharmaceuticals is an Asset Manager based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** Tel Aviv, Israel
- **Region:** Middle East
- **Address:** Tel Aviv, Israel
- **Founded:** 2003
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** galmedpharma.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/galmed-medical-research

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Galmed Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2003 in Tel Aviv by Dr. Allen Baharaff, who continues as President and CEO. The company emerged from early-stage metabolic research and has remained narrowly focused on a single synthetic bile-acid conjugate, Aramchol, targeting non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a complex liver disease with no approved therapies as of mid-decade. The wealth origin is not family-office linked; Galmed has operated as a publicly traded clinical-stage entity since its 2014 Nasdaq listing. The firm's deployment is entirely clinical: advancing Aramchol through Phase 3 and open-label extension studies, including the pivotal ARMOR trial and the global ARREST study. The asset-class mix is singular — biotech drug development — with no direct co-investments, SPVs, or fund-of-funds structures. Geographic footprint spans Israel-based R&D and US-facing regulatory and capital-markets activity, with trial sites across North America, Europe, and Israel. Galmed's strategy hinges on differentiating Aramchol's mechanism — SCD1 modulation — from the FXR agonists and GLP-1-adjacent competitors discontinued by Intercept, Genfit, and CymaBay. Scale is measured in clinical milestones rather than headcount. Galmed has historically operated a lean team common to Israeli biotechs, outsourcing manufacturing and trial logistics while retaining scientific oversight in Tel Aviv. The firm's adjacent vehicle is its dual-listed status, with ordinary shares traded on Nasdaq under the ticker GLMD. Galmed's structural differentiator is its contrarian persistence in a therapeutic area largely abandoned by deep-pocketed competitors. While larger NASH players pivoted, Galmed amassed multi-year open-label safety data that serves as a moat against new entrants. The single-asset concentration creates binary risk absent from diversified life-science portfolios.

## Sectors

- Digital Health
- Healthcare Services

## People

- Allen Baharaff — President and Chief Executive Officer

## Questions

### Why is Galmed still pursuing NASH when larger pharma companies have pulled back?

Galmed contends that its SCD1-modulating molecule, Aramchol, targets liver fat metabolism via a distinct pathway. The company has accumulated open-label safety and histological data over multiple years. Management views the NASH market as a first-mover opportunity without existing drug competition.

### How does Galmed fund its operations given it has no AUM or diversified asset base?

Galmed is a publicly traded company. It has historically funded operations through equity offerings, at-the-market facilities, and NASDAQ-listed follow-on issuances. This capital structure is typical of single-asset clinical biotechs.

### Does Galmed participate in co-investments or fund-of-funds structures?

No. Galmed is not a family office or investment manager; it is an operating clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. Its entire capital deployment goes toward the development of Aramchol.

### What is the regulatory status of Aramchol's development?

Aramchol has completed Phase 2b trials and entered multiple Phase 3 and open-label extension studies globally. As a SCD1 inhibitor, it received FDA fast-track designation, though approval timelines remain dependent on final pivotal-trial outcomes.

### Who runs strategic decisions at Galmed?

Dr. Allen Baharaff, the co-founder, serves as President and CEO. He has led the company since inception in 2003, overseeing both the Israeli scientific operations and the US capital-market and regulatory interface.

## Related profiles

- [Autonomix Medical, Inc.](https://altss.com/profile/autonomix-medical-inc)
- [AIM ImmunoTech Inc.](https://altss.com/profile/aim-immunotech-inc)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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