Loyal Calls on Bridge Bank for Venture Debt, Banking Services
I make business decisions based on logic, facts and finances, obviously, but relationships matter, too. For me, it matters that the people I’m working with care about the company and care about the mission. I felt a connection with Bridge Bank that I didn’t feel with the others I spoke with.
Almost half of U.S. households have a dog. These beloved family members typically live just 10-13 years, but Bridge Bank client, Loyal, is working to change that with drug programs that aim to extend canine companions’ lifespans — and healthy years, too.
Venture funders are taking notice. Most recently, in February 2025, Loyal announced a Series B-2 funding round, bringing total investment in the company to over $150 million. This comes on top of the company’s $45 million Series B last year. This most recent announcement includes a $20 million line of credit from Bridge Bank, a division of Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC.
Loyal has already achieved significant milestones on its path to gaining Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the first lifespan extension drug for any species. It has three products in its pipeline and is on track to bring the first product to market in the next year, which is targeted for senior dogs over 14 pounds. The FDA recently agreed that this drug program is likely to be effective at extending canine lifespan. This milestone follows Loyal’s previous FDA efficacy acceptance in November 2023 for another drug in its pipeline, developed for large dog breeds. Together, these two milestones represent the first- and second-ever efficacy acknowledgments from the FDA that a drug can be effective at extending lifespan.
Loyal has generated significant excitement and media and industry interest in its products and the company in places like The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, WIRED and the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
Bridge Bank’s Life Sciences Group has supported Loyal as it has grown. In early 2023, Loyal began using most of the banking services at Bridge Bank, in addition to the venture debt facility.
“It was very important to us that Bridge Bank understood our business, the milestones, how to underwrite the company, and what mattered in terms of unlocking capital and decreasing risk, with intelligently and collaboratively designed tranches that are meaningful but also achievable,” explains Halioua.
“There was the fact that we liked working together,” she added, noting that as a female founder, she has encountered her share of “mansplaining.” “Bridge Bank conveyed a level of respect for me and my company, and that was a really nice foundation to build a relationship on.”
Halioua, who was named to the 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 list, says trust and communication have been essential to the banking relationship between Bridge Bank and Loyal.
“I make business decisions based on logic, facts and finances, obviously, but relationships matter, too. For me, it matters that the people I’m working with care about the company and care about the mission. I felt a connection with Bridge Bank that I didn’t feel with the others I spoke with.”
The combination of Bridge Bank’s 20-plus-year track record as a resource for technology and life sciences companies, plus the powerful backing of Western Alliance, was also meaningful to Loyal. Today, the company continues to expand its operational and technical capabilities.
“As we progress toward commercialization, the venture debt relationship is going to be super important. We can’t predict exactly how much this drug will sell in the first year because it’s a completely new market segment — nobody’s ever launched a drug to extend dog lifespan,” Halioua says. “We want to have confidence intervals to be able to fulfill refills, and we need product in stock to ramp up production, while also remaining humble about our assumptions. That’s one of the most powerful things we’ve been working on as we approach commercialization next year, and financing plays a key role.”