BOSTON, Mass. – February 25, 2025 – Nimbus Therapeutics, LLC (“Nimbus Therapeutics” or “Nimbus”), a biotechnology company that designs and develops breakthrough medicines for patients through its powerful computational drug discovery engine, today announced the achievement of a significant preclinical milestone. This milestone, achieved in collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly), targets a specific isoform of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases.
AMPK, a key regulator of cellular energy metabolism, has long been recognized as a promising therapeutic target. Despite its potential, developing selective activators of specific AMPK isoforms has remained technically challenging, with previous attempts to effectively drug the target proving unsuccessful. Throughout their collaboration, Nimbus has leveraged its computational approaches and structure-based drug design capabilities to help overcome these historical obstacles.
“Our team has solved a decades-old challenge in drug development with the discovery of a highly selective isoform-specific AMPK activator. This success demonstrates the power of Nimbus’ computational approach to drug discovery combined with Lilly’s deep expertise in cardiometabolic disease. I am excited by the potential of this molecule to make a meaningful difference for patients,” said Peter J. Tummino, Ph.D., President of Research and Development at Nimbus. “I look forward to continuing to apply Nimbus’ discovery engine to address targets across metabolic, cardiovascular, and obesity-related diseases.”
In October 2022, Nimbus and Lilly entered into a research collaboration and exclusive, worldwide license agreement for the development and commercialization of small molecule activators of AMPK. Under the terms of the agreement, Nimbus is responsible for research activities and Lilly is responsible for development and commercialization efforts worldwide. Nimbus is eligible to receive research, development, and commercial milestone payments up to $496 million, in addition to royalties on global net sales ranging from mid-single- to low double-digits.
About Nimbus Therapeutics
Nimbus Therapeutics is a clinical-stage, structure-based drug discovery company developing novel small molecule medicines designed to act against well-validated but difficult-to-drug targets implicated in multiple human diseases. The company advances promising research based on a unique strategy that combines leading-edge computational technologies with a tailored array of machine learning-based predictive modeling approaches. Nimbus’ pipeline includes NDI-219216, a Werner syndrome helicase (WRN) inhibitor in development for microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) tumors, as well as a diverse portfolio of preclinical programs focused on cancer, autoimmune conditions, and metabolic diseases. The company is headquartered in Boston, Mass. To learn more about Nimbus, please visit www.nimbustx.com.
Media Contact:
Cindy Fung, PhD
Nimbus Therapeutics