Skye Bioscience's Obesity Candidate Shows 30% Weight Loss When Combined With Eli Lilly's Blockbuster Drug In Animal Models

Skye Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYE) stock is trading higher on Tuesday with a strong session volume of 18.49 million compared to the average volume of 196.131k, as per data from Benzinga Pro.

On Tuesday, the company announced new preclinical data for its novel CB1 antibody, nimacimab.

In a murine diet-induced obesity (DIO) model, after 25 days of treatment, results demonstrated:

• Greater than 30% weight loss when nimacimab was combined with Eli Lilly And Co’s (NYSE:LLY) tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound).
• Nimacimab alone demonstrated 23.5% weight loss, comparable to Novo Nordisk A/S’s (NYSE:NVO) monlunabant and tirzepatide alone.

Also Read: Novo Nordisk’s Monlunabant Data Drags Stocks Of Smaller Players

“This new preclinical study highlights that a truly peripherally-restricted CB1 inhibitor—nimacimab—effectively drives weight loss in a DIO model. Nimacimab compared favorably to and provided significant additive weight loss when combined with GLP-1-targeted drugs like tirzepatide,” said Punit Dhillon, CEO of Skye. “Using higher doses, this study builds on our previous preclinical DIO data in human CB1 knock-in mice that showed significant dose-dependent weight loss. Biomarker analyses demonstrated that nimacimab-driven weight loss was associated with beneficial changes in key hormones, glycemic control, and inflammatory markers.

“Skye believes nimacimab shows potential both as a monotherapy and in combination with a GLP-1 targeted drug to address unmet needs in obesity with the potential to change weight loss standards of care.”

Initial data from Skye’s Phase 2a study in obesity is expected in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2025.

Skye also shared new in vitro data demonstrating differentiated potency characteristics.

This study assessed the potency of nimacimab and monlunabant against two concentrations of the CB1 agonist CP55940.

The first condition evaluated the potency of each drug with a lower concentration of CP55940 (50nM or EC80), while the second condition evaluated potency against an elevated concentration of CP55940 (2000nM or 40X EC80).

These data demonstrated that while nimacimab’s potency remained relatively stable, the activity of monlunabant when challenged with a higher concentration of a CB1 agonist was significantly impacted.

“In the context of CB1 inhibition, we aim to realize the weight loss and metabolic benefits of this mechanism without the neuropsychiatric side effects seen with small molecule drugs. In our estimation, the potential of superior potency of nimacimab in this disease state may offer the widest possible therapeutic window among CB1 inhibitors,” Dhillon added.

Price Action: SKYE stock is up 29.40% at $1.69 at the last check Tuesday.

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