Lilly to boost obesity drug portfolio with $1.93-billion Versanis buy
14 Jul 2023
Phase 2Acquisition
Eli Lilly announced on Friday that it will acquire Versanis for potentially up to $1.93 billion, gaining the latter's lead drug bimagrumab, an activin receptor type II antagonist that is being studied as a treatment for obesity.
"By unifying the knowledge and expertise in incretin biology at Lilly with the deep understanding of activin biology at Versanis, we aim to harness the potential benefits of such combinations for patients," said Ruth Gimeno, group vice president of diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic research at Lilly.
Bimagrumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds activin type II A and B receptors to block activin and myostatin signalling, is being assessed in the 507-patient BELIEVE Phase IIb study alone and in combination with Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (semaglutide) in adults who are overweight or obese. Eli Lilly noted that combining incretins with bimagrumab may further reduce fat mass but preserve muscle mass and may lead to better outcomes for people with obesity and obesity-related complications.
Under the agreement, Versanis will receive up to $1.93 billion in cash, comprising an upfront payment and subsequent payments upon achievement of certain development and sales milestones.
Last month, Eli Lilly said that its experimental oral GLP-1 receptor agonist orforglipronGLP-1 receptor agonist orforglipron achieved up to 14.7% mean weight reduction after six months in adults with obesity or overweight in a Phase II study, presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) scientific sessions and published in the NEJM. The company also reported at the ADA conference Eli Lilly that retatrutide, which targets GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon, helped patients lose an average of about 24% of their body weight in a Phase II trial.
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