The strongest person to gain muscle and lose fat is born: Eli Lilly's Bimagrumab data is amazing, Lai Kai (02105) LAE102 value rises

ActRII is the strongest route to gain muscle and lose fat.

100% of the weight lost with the single drug came from fat, and instead of losing muscle, 2.5% was increased; when used in combination with simeglutide, 22.1% of the weight was lost in 72 weeks, 92.8% came from fat, and only 2.9% of muscle was lost.

This is astonishing data read by Eli Lilly Bimagrumab (ActRIIA/b monoclonal antibody) at the 2025 ADA annual conference. It has dual significance for the ActRII pathway: first, pharmacogenicity has been verified; second, super commercial value has been verified. Combined with GLP-1 drugs, it can achieve both top muscle protection and top weight loss effects.

ActRII muscle gain and fat loss drug. Currently, with the exception of Bimagrumab, only Laikai Pharmaceutical (02105) LAE102 (ActRIa monoclonal antibody) is in the clinical stage worldwide. Judging from the data released by LAE102 at the ADA conference, compared to Bimagrumab, LAE102 has the advantage of better safety and no reports of diarrhea; it is better administered, can be injected subcutaneously, and is easier to use in combination with GLP-1 drugs.

Bimagrumab and LAE102 are ActRII channel projects. The relationship between them is that coexistence is greater than competition, and they reinforce each other's logic. Global muscle building and fat loss programs are generally scarce and in short supply, and MNC configurations are in high demand. Weight loss tracks include not only Novo and Nord and Eli Lilly giants, but MSD, Roche, Amgen, AstraZeneca, and Regenerative are also rapidly being deployed.

LAE102 became a BD hit.

GLP-1's best partner

“Muscle Gain and Fat Loss+Metabolic Repair” is the new standard for the next stage of high-quality weight loss.

ActRII is an activin receptor expressed in both fat and muscle cells. ActRII receptor activation can trigger fat accumulation and muscle atrophy. By blocking this pathway, it is expected to improve muscle composition while promoting fat metabolism.

The Bimagrumab BELIEVE trial recruited about 500 participants to verify the mechanism of action of ActRII using large sample data.

-With Bimagrumab alone, the subjects lost 10.8% of their weight in 72 weeks. All of the weight lost came from fat, and their lean body mass increased by 2.5%;

-In combination with Bimagrumab+ simeglutide, subjects lost an average of 22.1% of their body weight after 72 weeks, which was comparable to the effect of losing 22.5% of the highest dose of tirpotide in 72 weeks. 92.8% of the weight lost came from fat, and muscle loss was only 2.9%.

Combined treatment also brought overall benefits. Visceral fat was reduced by 58.2%, waist circumference was reduced by 21.7 cm, inflammatory marker hsCRP decreased by 83.4%, adiponectin increased by 33.4 μg/mL, and diastolic pressure, HbA1c, and triglycerides decreased. The improvements in these indicators were significantly superior to Bimagrumab or simeglutide alone.

These all show the synergetic effects of GLP-1 and ActRII. While enhancing weight loss effects, they also improve metabolism and preserve lean body weight.

In terms of safety, common adverse effects of Bimagrumab include muscle cramps, diarrhea, and acne.

Eli Lilly should be quite satisfied with the ActRII pathway and will promote phase II clinical trials of Bimagrumab and the home-made weight loss star drug telpotide.

ActRII's advantage of “losing weight without losing weight” can compete with similar drugs. Apitegromab, developed by Scholar Rock, is an antibody drug that targets the Myostatin (muscle growth inhibin) precursor. It lost 12.3% of weight in 24 weeks, 85% of weight loss came from fat, and 15% from lean body weight loss; regenerative trevogrumab (anti-myostatin antibody) was used in combination with simeglutide to lose 17% of body weight loss.

ActRII muscle gain and fat loss drugs are expected to be the best partner for GLP-1 drugs, sharing 100 billion dollar incremental dividends. Global sales of GLP-1 drugs will exceed 50 billion US dollars in 2024. According to data from Jefferies and other platforms, the global sales scale of GLP-1 drugs is expected to exceed 150 billion US dollars in 2031.

The value of LAE102 is rising

Please pay attention to a colorful egg. Lai Kai Pharmaceutical's research team is deeply involved in the ActRII channel. They have more than 20 years of know-how experience, and are expected to take the lead later.

Back to the old question: After Eli Lilly bought the world's most advanced Bimagrumab (ActRIIA/b monoclonal antibody) for 1.9 billion US dollars, it also spent money on LAE102 (ActRIIa monoclonal antibody), which is the second most advanced in the world, to do phase I clinical trials. Isn't the ActriIA/b dual target as good as ActriIa single target?

Now, the question is close to being answered.

According to an analysis by new drug development scientist Dr. Leung Kwai-bak in August of last year, there is no further clinical data explaining how the two receptor subtypes (ActRIIA/b) work in coordination and antagonize the effects of these two receptor subtypes on efficacy and adverse effects. To find the ideal state of collaborative work between these two subtypes, it is impossible to do just one dual-target antibody; it is necessary to have highly specific single-target drugs to optimize different combinations.

Laikai Pharmaceuticals' combinatorial strategy — layout of 3 ActRII-targeted drugs, including LAE102 (ActRIIa monoclonal antibody), LAE103 (ActRIIb mAb), and LAE123 (a monoclonal antibody against ActRIIA/IIb). Through various flexible combinations, it is entirely possible to obtain a better efficacy and safety ratio of intervention in this regulatory circuit, and may also expand to other disease indications, such as muscle lack of indications, and other serious diseases.

According to the pre-clinical study results of muscle gain and fat loss therapy announced by Laikai Pharmaceutical at the 2025 ADA conference, in mouse models, LAE102 alone can significantly induce muscle growth and fat loss, while LAE103 is less effective. Notably, when LAE102 was used in combination with LAE103, a synergistic effect on muscle gain and fat loss was observed, and its maximum effect was comparable to that of ActriIA-IIb monoclonal antibody LAE123.

This shows that ActRIIa is the main regulatory target for muscle growth and fat loss in mice. LAE102 shows great potential as a weight management therapy with good safety characteristics and muscle protection, while LAE123 can be used to treat diseases requiring complete suppression of ActRIIA/IIb dual targets, such as spinal muscular atrophy.

In fact, at the 2025 ADA conference, LAE102 read out the first human study data, supporting that it has better safety, no serious adverse events (SAE), and no treatment was terminated due to adverse events (TEAE); most TEAEs were mild laboratory abnormalities, no clinical symptoms, and no medical intervention was required; no cases of diarrhea were reported.

While side effects are minimal, LAE102 also showed strong and sustained target inhibition: activin A (Activin A) increased significantly within 24 hours after a single intravenous or subcutaneous injection; the high-dose group (8 mg/kg IV group, 16 mg/kg IV group, and 8 mg/kg SC group) increased activin A levels 2-3 times after a single dose, for up to 28 days, indicating a continuous pathway blocking effect.

This is another egg, which means LAE102 has the potential to develop ultra-long-lasting formulations.

The LAE102 US phase I clinical trial in collaboration with Laikai Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly has completed administration of the drug for the first time. It is currently progressing at full speed. It is planned to complete the main research phase in September 2025. It is worth looking forward to reading the data at that time.

Bimagrumab's amazing efficacy data illuminated the ActRII channel. After the ADA annual conference, the potential value of LAE102, China's innovative asset, can be viewed even more highly.

With the support of better safety and administration methods, LAE102 is expected to become the preferred GLP-1 combination therapy and become a breakthrough solution to the problem of muscle loss in weight loss treatment.

This article is reprinted from the WeChat account of “Archimedes Biotech”; Author: Archimedes; Zhitong Finance Editor: Chen Xiaoyi.