Nimbus Therapeutics Announces Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Lilly for Novel Oral Obesity Treatment
Published: 11 Mar 2026
Author: Precedence Research
Nimbus Therapeutics, LLC, a drug discovery company developing breakthrough medicines through its AI-enhanced computational drug discovery engine, today announced it 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.
A new collaboration has been established following the previous research partnership between Lilly and Nimbus on AMPK in relation to cardiometabolic disease
This new collaboration follows the previous collaboration between Nimbus and Lilly targeting AMPK in cardiometabolic diseases. The companies will now apply Nimbus’ computational chemistry and structure-based drug design approach to an early-stage, small molecule discovery program addressing a significant unmet need in obesity.
Ruth Gimeno, Group Vice President, Diabetes and Metabolic Research and Development at Lilly, said that “They are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Nimbus, a team that has demonstrated exceptional ability to tackle complex drug discovery challenges”.
He also stated that “Working together to develop this novel obesity therapy represents a crucial addition to Lilly’s efforts to advance innovative treatment options for patients with metabolic disorders.”
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,” said Peter J. Tummino, Ph.D., President of Research and Development at Nimbus. They are excited to collaborate with Lilly on another program, combining their discovery capabilities with their metabolic disease expertise to bring novel treatment to people with obesity and make a significant difference in their lives.
According to Precedence Research, the oral obesity therapies market size accounted for USD 4.35 billion in 2025 and is expected to grow from USD 4.70 billion in 2026 to approximately USD 9.34 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 7.94% from 2026 to 2034. The growth of the market is primarily driven by the increasing prevalence of obesity, growing awareness of obesity-related risks as a serious health condition, and increasing efforts to develop innovative oral therapeutics solutions.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Nimbus is eligible to receive upfront and near-term milestone payments, amounting to USD 55 million, with eligibility to receive up to approximately USD 1.3 billion in total, including development, commercial, and sales milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on global net sales.