Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly signs deal to develop oral obesity drug

Eli Lilly will use AI in collaboration with Nimbus Therapeutics to develop oral treatments for obesity

Eli Lilly and Nimbus Therapeutics have announced a multi-year research and licensing agreement to develop new AI-driven oral treatments for obesity and other metabolic diseases.

Eli Lilly will provide $55 million in upfront and near-milestone payments, with Nimbus potentially receiving an additional $1.3 billion in development and commercial milestones, plus royalties on global sales if drugs are approved.

This collaboration highlights a growing industry trend of leveraging AI for faster, cheaper drug discovery and safety testing, aligning with the US Food and Drug Administration's drive to reduce animal testing.

In 2022, Nimbus sold an AI-designed compound to Takeda in a deal worth up to $6 billion. The psoriasis treatment recently cleared two late-stage trials, and the Japanese drugmaker plans to seek regulatory approvals this year.

Drugmakers are racing to develop weight-loss pills that could offer an alternative to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound — both weekly injections — in a market expected to generate more than $150 billion in annual revenue by the early 2030s.

Pre-filled injection pens doses of Mounjaro, the weight loss medication manufactured by US manufacturer Eli Lilly (PA Wire)

Nimbus will use its AI to help identify drug candidates, while Lilly will contribute its metabolic-disease expertise to develop an easy-to-take oral medicine for obesity.

The new collaboration follows the company's 2022 research, and licensing agreement with Lilly to develop oral drugs for cardiometabolic diseases.

Boston-based Nimbus develops pill-form drugs and has programs in cancer, inflammatory diseases and metabolic disorders.

The announcement comes a day after Denmark's Novo Nordisk put its Wegovy weight loss pill on sale to the public for the first time.

Novo Nordisk will sell the 1.5 and 4 milligram weight loss pills at $149 per month to self-paying patients in the United States from January 5.

It will offer the highest doses of the drug pill, of 9 and 25 milligram, at $299 per month, it said on its website.

The price for the 4 milligram dose will rise to $199 per month from April 15, it said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on December 22 approved the pill, giving Novo Nordisk a leg up as it looks to regain lost ground from rival Eli Lilly.