Lilly pays Nimbus up to $1.3 billion for another oral obesity drug

Eli Lilly has agreed to pay Nimbus Therapeutics up to $1.3 billion in development, commercial and sales milestones, plus royalties on global sales, to create a new oral treatment for obesity ^[1][2]. The deal, announced January 6, 2026, also includes $55 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments ^[1][2]. The drug candidate is still in the preclinical stage, meaning it has not yet been tested in people ^[2].

This is the second metabolic-disease collaboration between the two companies. In 2022, Lilly and Nimbus signed an earlier deal worth up to $496 million to find new drugs that activate a specific protein called AMPK for metabolic diseases ^[2]. That earlier partnership used Nimbus's computational drug discovery methods, and the new deal follows the same approach: Nimbus will use artificial intelligence and structure-based drug design to help identify obesity drug candidates, while Lilly will apply its expertise in metabolic disease ^[1][2].

Nimbus, based in Boston, has used this AI-driven approach before. In 2022, it sold an AI-designed psoriasis compound to Takeda in a deal worth up to $6 billion ^[1]. That drug recently succeeded in two late-stage trials, and Takeda plans to seek regulatory approval this year ^[1]. Ruth Gimeno, Lilly's group vice president for diabetes and metabolic research and development, said the company was "pleased to deepen our collaboration with Nimbus, a team that has demonstrated exceptional ability to tackle complex drug discovery challenges" ^[2]. Peter Tummino, president of R&D at Nimbus, said the company was "excited to collaborate with Lilly on another program" to "bring a much-needed new treatment to people with obesity" ^[2].

The deal comes as drugmakers race to develop weight-loss pills that could serve as an alternative to weekly injections like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound ^[1]. That market is expected to generate more than $150 billion in annual revenue by the early 2030s ^[1]. Novo Nordisk has already launched an oral version of Wegovy in the US ^[2], and Lilly has been working to secure FDA approval for orforglipron, its own oral obesity drug candidate, sold under the brand name Foundayo ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

This new compound is still years away from reaching pharmacies, if it reaches them at all. It has not yet been tested in humans, so nothing is known about its safety, effectiveness, dosing or price ^[2]. For patients currently using or considering GLP-1 medications, the deal is a signal about where the industry is headed rather than a new treatment option.

The move shows that Lilly is not counting on orforglipron alone to compete in the oral obesity drug market. By lining up a second pill candidate before its first is even approved, Lilly appears to be planning for a future where more pill-form alternatives to injectable drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy become available. For patients who prefer pills over injections, this could eventually mean more choices, though it does not change the options available today.

The reliance on AI-driven drug design is also part of a broader industry trend. Sources note that drugmakers are increasingly using artificial intelligence for discovery and safety testing, partly in response to a push by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce animal testing ^[1]. Whether this changes how quickly new obesity drugs reach patients, or how they are tested for safety, is not yet known.

What happens next

No timeline for human trials or FDA review of the new Nimbus-Lilly compound was included in the announcement ^[1][2]. Separately, Lilly continues to seek FDA approval for orforglipron (Foundayo), its first oral obesity drug candidate ^[2]. Takeda, which worked with Nimbus on a different drug, plans to seek regulatory approvals for its AI-designed psoriasis pill this year ^[1].