Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Nimbus Therapeutics entered a research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license with Eli Lilly to develop and commercialize selective AMPK isoform activators for metabolic diseases. Total deal payments could reach up to $496M plus tiered mid-single to low-double-digit royalties on net sales. Nimbus leads research; Lilly leads development and commercialization. Post-deal development: on February 25, 2025 Nimbus announced it had achieved a research milestone in the collaboration with the discovery of a highly selective isoform-specific AMPK activator, described as solving a decades-old AMPK selectivity challenge (preclinical). The collaboration remained active; in January 2026 Lilly and Nimbus signed a separate, larger ($1.3B potential) oral-obesity collaboration that explicitly built on this 2022 AMPK pact.