Nimbus Therapeutics has entered a collaboration and licensing agreement with Eli Lilly for potential therapeutics for metabolic diseases with a potential value of $496 million.

 

The two companies will collaborate on the development of novel targeted therapies designed to activate a specific isoform of AMPK for the potential treatment of metabolic diseases. AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is considered a high-value target in this indication due to its role in glucose, lipid metabolism, and inflammation. 

 

The companies will work to identify isoform-selective, small molecule activators of AMPK heterotrimers, believed to improve glucose and lipid homeostasis while mitigating safety concerns.
 

Nimbus will apply its computational drug discovery engine to develop isoform-selective small molecule AMPK activators applicable in a broad range of metabolic diseases, leveraging Lilly’s expertise in this area. 
 

Peter Tummino, Nimbus Therapeutics’ chief scientific officer, said, “Nimbus has established a successful track record in developing and progressing highly-selective small molecules to the clinic against hard-to-interrogate targets, which is a demonstration of the power of our computational and structural approach to drug discovery.”