Lilly bets up to $1.9B on Versanis' PhIIb weight loss drug alone and in combo with Novo Nordisk's Wegovy
Eli Lilly will pay up to $1.925 billion in cash for weight loss drugmaker Versanis, marking the Big Pharma’s fourth acquisition this summer after deals for DICE Therapeutics, Sigilon and Emergence Therapeutics.
The acquisition could pay out in the near future, as Versanis last month guided to a Phase IIb readout for its monoclonal antibody in the middle of 2024. Trial investigators are testing whether the asset, dubbed bimagrumab, alone and in combination with Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, can “substantially prevent the loss of muscle mass observed with semaglutide and other incretin therapies” while also reducing fat.
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