Eli Lilly to acquire private equity-backed drugmaker for up to $1.9B
Eli Lilly and Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Versanis, a New York City-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of cardiometabolic disease, for up to $1.93 billion.
Versanis’ leading asset, bimagrumab, is presently being evaluated in a BELIEVE Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of obesity both on its own and in combination with semaglutide. The company enrolled more than 500 patients into the study and is aiming for a top-line readout by the middle of 2024. A previous trial evaluating the drug found that it was associated with a reduction in fat mass of 21.9% after 48 weeks of therapy among patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. It was also linked to an increase in muscle mass of 4.5%.
“Lilly is committed to investigating potential new medicines to fight cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity, a chronic disease that affects over 100 million Americans,” Ruth Gimeno, PhD, Lily’s group vice president of diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic research, said in a prepared statement. “By unifying the knowledge and expertise in incretin biology at Lilly with the deep understanding of activin biology at Versanis, we aim to harness the potential benefits of such combinations for patients.”
“It has been a privilege for our team to advance bimagrumab to address one of the greatest health crises of our time,” added Mark Pruzanski, MD, Versanis chairman and CEO. “As a global leader developing life-changing medicines, Lilly is ideally positioned to realize the potential of bimagrumab in combination with its incretin therapies to benefit people living with cardiometabolic diseases.”
Once the acquisition is finalized, Versanis shareholders will receive up to $1.93 billion, including an initial cash payment and subsequent payments after key milestones have been reached.
Versanis was first founded back in 2021 by the venture capital firm Aditum Bio.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.