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Esperion Therapeutics: Ann Arbor's Public-Market Biotech Anchor on NASDAQ

Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ESPR) is the Ann Arbor cardiometabolic biopharma selling NEXLETOL, NEXLIZET, and Enbumyst, with a market cap near $732M.

A2Hub Editorial· Rusty Roof Media· Updated May 4, 2026

Esperion Therapeutics

By A2Hub Editorial. Published 2026-04-22. Last updated: 2026-04-22.

At a glance

  • Company: Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.
  • Ticker: NASDAQ: ESPR
  • HQ: Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Therapeutic focus: Cardiometabolic disease (LDL cholesterol lowering)
  • Key products: NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid + ezetimibe), Enbumyst (approved September 2025)
  • Market capitalization: ~$732M (March 2026)
  • Status: Commercial-stage, publicly traded
  • Website: esperion.com

The Ann Arbor biopharma on NASDAQ that did not move to Cambridge

Esperion Therapeutics is the Ann Arbor biopharma on NASDAQ. Tickering as ESPR, headquartered in Ann Arbor, and commercially focused on cardiometabolic disease, Esperion is the city's most visible public-market biotech story. It sells the approved LDL-lowering therapies NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) and NEXLIZET, expanded its portfolio with the September 2025 approval of Enbumyst, and carried a market capitalization of roughly $732M as of March 2026.

That last sentence does the heavy lifting. Most US-listed biopharmas with commercial-stage cardiometabolic franchises operate from Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Bay Area, or San Diego. Esperion does not. It sustained an Ann Arbor headquarters through the entire arc of its corporate life, and that decision keeps a public-market biopharma anchor in Michigan that the region would otherwise lack.

Founding story: the Pfizer arc and the second Esperion

Esperion has one of the more unusual corporate biographies in Michigan biotech. The original Esperion was founded in the late 1990s to pursue HDL-targeted cardiovascular therapies and was acquired by Pfizer in 2004 for approximately $1.3B. That acquisition pulled the original Esperion's HDL program into Pfizer's pipeline. Several years later, a new Esperion reformed in Ann Arbor around the same broad scientific mission (cardiometabolic disease, with a focus on patients underserved by statins), re-entered the public markets, and has spent the years since building a commercial cardiometabolic franchise.

The company kept Ann Arbor as its headquarters through the entire arc. That is unusual for a NASDAQ-listed biopharma. Most similarly sized US biotechs cluster around Cambridge, Massachusetts or South San Francisco. Esperion's sustained Ann Arbor footprint gives the region a rare anchor: a domestic public biopharma with a commercial product line, institutional investor coverage, and a long-term presence in the city.

The clinical and commercial heart of the modern Esperion is bempedoic acid, an oral non-statin LDL-lowering therapy that the company brought through pivotal cardiovascular outcomes trials, FDA approval, and US commercial launch. The CLEAR Outcomes trial, which read out positively in 2023, was the data event that established bempedoic acid's cardiovascular outcomes profile and stabilized the company's commercial trajectory.

What they build

Esperion's commercial focus is cardiometabolic disease, specifically the large population of patients who are unable to tolerate or to fully benefit from existing statin therapy for elevated LDL cholesterol.

NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) is an oral, non-statin therapy that inhibits ATP-citrate lyase in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Because the target enzyme is not active in skeletal muscle, bempedoic acid can lower LDL-C without the muscle-related side effects that cause some patients to discontinue statins. The CLEAR Outcomes trial demonstrated cardiovascular benefit in patients with statin intolerance, which expanded the clinical use case substantially.

NEXLIZET is a fixed-dose combination of bempedoic acid and ezetimibe, combining two complementary non-statin mechanisms in a single daily tablet. The combination addresses patients who need more LDL-C lowering than either single agent provides.

Enbumyst was approved in September 2025, following Esperion's acquisition of Corstasis Therapeutics, expanding the company's cardiometabolic portfolio beyond the bempedoic acid franchise.

The commercial strategy is built around patients and prescribers who have already failed, been unable to tolerate, or been inadequately treated by statins. The underlying market is enormous: high LDL cholesterol is one of the most common modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in the United States, statin intolerance is a real and underserved clinical problem, and the addressable patient pool runs into the tens of millions even after accounting for patients well-controlled on statins alone.

Funding and growth

Esperion is a public company. Capital formation happens on the public markets, and the story is told through earnings calls, filings, and market capitalization rather than VC rounds.

As of March 2026, Esperion carried an approximate market capitalization of $732M. The company has been working to expand NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET prescribing volume, to grow its presence internationally through partners, and to integrate Enbumyst into the commercial portfolio following the September 2025 approval. The acquisition of Corstasis Therapeutics, which brought Enbumyst into the portfolio, signaled an intent to broaden beyond the bempedoic acid franchise into a multi-asset cardiometabolic company.

Public cardiometabolic biopharmas are volatile. Esperion's market capitalization has moved meaningfully over the years depending on prescribing trends, cardiovascular outcomes data, reimbursement dynamics, and the broader biotech tape. What has not moved is the Ann Arbor headquarters.

International expansion has been pursued largely through licensing partnerships. Daiichi Sankyo Europe holds rights for NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Turkey. Otsuka holds rights in Japan. Those partnerships convert ex-US opportunity into milestone and royalty income without requiring Esperion to build out global commercial infrastructure from Ann Arbor.

Ann Arbor footprint

Esperion's corporate headquarters is in Ann Arbor. The city gains several things from that. First, a set of public-company jobs in finance, regulatory, medical affairs, commercial operations, and investor relations, which are not abundant in the region. Second, a live relationship between the University of Michigan's cardiovascular research community, Michigan Medicine, and a commercial biopharma employer. Third, a reference point for future Michigan biotech founders: a publicly traded cardiometabolic company operating from Ann Arbor is proof that the path exists without relocating.

The Ann Arbor headcount is not consistently broken out in public filings; Esperion is a commercial-stage biopharma that runs leaner on internal headcount than the diversified large-cap pharmaceutical model, with significant external partnerships across contract manufacturing, contract sales, and partner-led ex-US commercialization.

Why it matters

Ann Arbor has strong academic biomedical research, a cluster of U-M spinouts at various stages, and the newest Michigan unicorn in HistoSonics. What it largely lacks, compared to Cambridge or South San Francisco, is depth of publicly traded biopharma. Esperion is the exception. That makes it strategically important for the region even beyond its own commercial performance.

For analysts and recruiters mapping the Ann Arbor biotech cluster, Esperion is the NASDAQ data point. For U-M clinical and commercial talent, it is the rare chance to work on a marketed cardiometabolic therapy from a Michigan office. For journalists covering Midwestern biotech, it is the company that proves commercial-stage biopharma can live this far from the coasts.

The strategic question through 2026-2027 is whether the Enbumyst integration, Daiichi Sankyo partnership economics, and continued penetration of bempedoic acid prescribing converts the company from a single-product story into a multi-asset cardiometabolic franchise. If it does, Esperion's Ann Arbor footprint expands. If it does not, the company remains a solid mid-cap commercial biopharma with one major asset and a regional headquarters that defies industry norms.

Hiring profile

Esperion hires across regulatory affairs, medical affairs, commercial operations, market access, finance, legal, IT, and clinical operations. Engineering roles exist in IT and commercial systems but are limited compared to a software company. Compensation is competitive for the biopharma industry; total comp typically includes equity-heavy packages tied to ESPR stock performance, which means upside and downside can both move significantly with the broader biotech tape.

Work model varies by role. Many positions support hybrid arrangements; certain commercial and field-based roles are more distributed. The Ann Arbor headquarters remains the corporate center.

Related

  • HistoSonics is Michigan's newest tech unicorn, the focused ultrasound company that completes the modern Ann Arbor medtech anchor pair alongside Esperion.
  • Terumo Cardiovascular is the 1,000-employee global cardiovascular HQ on Jackson Road and the largest medical device employer in the region.
  • Workit Health is the $118M Series C telehealth addiction treatment company on Washtenaw Avenue, completing the picture of public, late-stage private, and growth-stage Ann Arbor health companies.
  • Ann Arbor biotech companies is the category hub.
  • Ann Arbor tech companies is the master directory.

FAQ

Is Esperion publicly traded? Yes. Esperion Therapeutics trades on NASDAQ under the ticker ESPR.

What does Esperion make? Esperion is a commercial-stage cardiometabolic biopharma. Its approved products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid), NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid plus ezetimibe), and Enbumyst, which was approved in September 2025.

Where is Esperion headquartered? Esperion Therapeutics is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

What is bempedoic acid? Bempedoic acid is the active ingredient in Esperion's NEXLETOL. It is an oral, non-statin therapy that inhibits ATP-citrate lyase to lower LDL cholesterol. Because the target enzyme is not active in skeletal muscle, bempedoic acid can be used in patients who cannot tolerate statins.

What is Esperion's market capitalization? Esperion's market capitalization was approximately $732M as of March 2026. Public-market valuations move; the company's current figure is available on NASDAQ under ESPR.

Who has international rights to Esperion's products? Daiichi Sankyo Europe holds commercial rights for NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Turkey. Otsuka holds rights in Japan. International expansion is pursued primarily through partner-led commercialization rather than direct Esperion buildout.

Is Esperion hiring in Ann Arbor? Yes. Open positions are posted at esperion.com and on standard biopharma job sites. Hiring spans regulatory, medical affairs, commercial operations, finance, IT, and clinical operations.