Lilly Doubles Down on Nimbus in $1.3B Oral Obesity Pact
Nimbus Therapeutics has entered into a multi-year research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to develop a novel oral treatment for obesity and other metabolic diseases, the companies announced.
The agreement builds on a prior collaboration between the two companies targeting AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in cardiometabolic disease, and signals Lilly’s continued interest in Nimbus’ AI-enhanced, structure-based drug discovery capabilities. Under the new collaboration, Nimbus will apply its computational chemistry and structure-based drug design platform to an early-stage small-molecule discovery program aimed at addressing a significant unmet need in obesity.
Combining Discovery Platforms and Metabolic Expertise
Ruth Gimeno, Group Vice President, Diabetes and Metabolic Research and Development at Eli Lilly and Company, said:
“We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Nimbus, a team that has demonstrated exceptional ability to tackle complex drug discovery challenges. Working together to develop this novel obesity therapy represents an important addition to Lilly’s efforts to advance innovative treatment options for patients with metabolic disorders.”
Peter J. Tummino, Ph.D., President of Research and Development at Nimbus Therapeutics, added:
“At Nimbus, computational scientists, medicinal chemists, pharmacologists and translational biologists work together to integrate AI-driven predictive models with structure-based design to develop novel small molecules with best-in-class potential. This integration has enabled us to consistently deliver optimized clinical candidates for difficult-to-drug targets. We are excited to collaborate with Lilly on another program, combining our discovery capabilities with their metabolic disease expertise to bring a much-needed new treatment to people with obesity and make a meaningful difference in their lives.”
Financially, the agreement positions Nimbus to receive upfront and near-term milestone payments totalling $55 million. The company is also eligible to receive up to approximately $1.3 billion in total payments, including development, commercial and sales milestones, as well as tiered royalties on global net sales.
Nimbus Therapeutics is a Boston-based structure-based drug discovery company focused on developing small-molecule medicines for well-validated but difficult-to-drug targets. Its pipeline includes NDI-219216, a Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) inhibitor in Phase 1/2 development for microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) tumors, a salt-inducible kinase 2 (SIK2) inhibitor advancing toward first-in-human studies for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and multiple preclinical programs across oncology, immunology and metabolic diseases.
Recommended Companies
More Headlines
