Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) announced today that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Versanis, a private, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company.
Versanis focuses on the development of new medicines for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. Its lead asset, bimagumab, is a monoclonal antibody. Bimagumab binds activin type II A and B receptors to block activin and myostatin signaling. The company currently has it under assessment in the BELIEVE Phase 2b study alone and in combination with semaglutide. It aims to treat overweight or obese adults.
According to a news release, combining incretins with bimagrumab could potentially reduce fat mass while preserving muscle mass. It may lead to better outcomes for people with obesity and obesity-related complications.
“Lilly is committed to investigating potential new medicines to fight cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity, a chronic disease that affects over 100 million Americans,”…