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Eli Lilly Halts Study for Muscle Retaining Weight Loss Drug for Users with Type 2
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Key Takeaways
- Eli Lilly halted a study on bimagrumab for Type 2 diabetes patients, focusing on weight loss and muscle mass preservation.
- GLP-1 agonists, popular for weight loss, often lead to muscle mass reduction, highlighting the need for companion drugs.
The company did not provide a reason for the bimagrum trial’s halting.
Lilly did not provide a specific reason for halting the study.
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Eli Lilly halted a study that was looking into whether bimagrumab could help patients with Type 2 diabetes lose weight while maintaining muscle mass, according to a report from Reuters.1 The experiment was testing the drug’s impact when taken with or without a GLP-1 agonist.
The need for a medication that can retain muscle mass is high at the moment. In recent years, GLP-1 agonists have become widely popular as weight-loss medications. This is due to the medication’s impact on appetite, which it significantly reduces in many patients. Obviously, this results in patients eating less and regularly results in a high percentage of the medication’s users losing weight.
However, a common problem for people losing weight (even when they’re not doing so with the help of a GLP-1 medication) is a loss of muscle mass. When the body is forced to operate on a caloric deficit, it can use both stored body fat and muscle mass to make up the difference. As a result, not all of the weight lost during a diet is weight that should be lost.
The problem is compounded by GLP-1 use, since it significantly reduces diet. While most people that successfully lose weight do so through a combination of diet and exercise, many GLP-1 users simply rely on eating less.
Lilly is one of several companies hoping to bring a companion drug to the market that helps GLP-1 users maintain their muscle mass. It began trials on bimagrumab earlier this year, and even provided a positive update in late June. However, according to the new report, that trial has come to end. Lilly did not provide a specific reason, simply saying that the company regularly evaluate their ongoing trials to focus development on programs that have the highest potential for each product.
An ongoing study looking into the effects of bimagrumab in GLP-1 users without diabetes is still running and will reportedly have results ready at some time in 2026.
Lilly brought bimagrumab under its umbrella in 2023 when it purchased Versanis Bio.2 At the time, it was reported that Versanis’ shareholders were paid up to $1.925 billion in cash as an upfront payment. The terms of the deal also included further payments based on various milestones being met.
In a press release issued at the time, Lilly’s group vice president of diabetes, obesity, and cardiometabolic research Ruth Gimeno, PhD, said, “Lilly is committed to investigating potential new medicines to fight cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity, a chronic disease that affects over 100 million Americans. 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."
In the same press release, Versanis’ chairman and CEO Mark Pruzanski, MD, added "It has been a privilege for our team to advance bimagrumab to address one of the greatest health crises of our time. 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."
Sources
- Eli Lilly halts trial testing experimental muscle-preserving drug with Zepbound. Reuters. September 25, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/eli-lilly-halts-trial-experimental-weight-loss-drug-2025-09-25/
- Lilly to Acquire Versanis to Improve Patient Outcomes in Cardiometabolic Diseases. Lilly. July 14, 2023. Accessed September 25, 2025. https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lilly-acquire-versanis-improve-patient-outcomes-cardiometabolic
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