Skye Bioscience and Arecor Partner to Advance High-Concentration Formulation of Obesity Drug Candidate
The clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting novel treatments for obesity and metabolic disorders Skye Bioscience, Inc. (Nasdaq: SKYE), has entered a formulation development collaboration with Arecor Therapeutics plc. The strategic partnership will leverage Arecor’s proprietary Arestat™ platform to develop a high-concentration formulation of Skye’s CB1 inhibitor, nimacimab, a first-in-class monoclonal antibody currently in Phase 2a clinical development.
Nimacimab is being evaluated in the CBeyond™ trial, which is investigating its efficacy in patients with obesity and overweight. The trial’s 26-week treatment data is expected in late Q3 or early Q4 of 2025. By increasing the drug’s concentration, Skye aims to optimize its delivery and improve treatment adherence.
Under the terms of the agreement, Skye will fund the formulation development activities and retains the option to license rights to the newly developed nimacimab formulation and related intellectual property for further clinical advancement and commercialization.
“We are pleased to partner with Skye to support the development of a novel, enhanced formulation of nimacimab, a promising first-in-class candidate with the potential to address significant unmet needs in metabolic disease,” said Sarah Howell, CEO of Arecor. “This collaboration highlights the strength of our Arestat™ technology in in enabling the development of enhanced therapeutic products that can improve patient outcomes and supports our strategy of bringing innovative medicines to market that address significant unmet patient needs in high-value markets.”
Tu Diep, COO of Skye, emphasized the company’s innovation-focused approach, “Approved weight loss drugs have issues with tolerability and adherence, while the small molecule CB1 inhibitors raise concerns about cumulative exposure-related neuropsychiatric toxicities. Nimacimab already has an advantageous pharmacokinetic profile and to date it does not pose these issues. It has a potentially best-in-class half-life of 18–21 days–substantially longer than GLP-1-based therapies–and is being evaluated in a Phase 2a study with once-weekly dosing. Serving our goal of continuous innovation, we are pleased to work with Arecor on the goal of further enhancing nimacimab to improve patient compliance and treatment outcomes.”
