June 21 (Reuters) - Amylyx Pharmaceuticals ( AMLX ) has

agreed to buy the rights to bankrupt drugmaker Eiger

BioPharmaceuticals' ( EIGRQ ) experimental drug for low blood

sugar in a $35.1 million deal, Eiger said in a filing on Friday.

Amylyx's acquisition of avexitide would mean a foray into

drug development for metabolic diseases. The company had so far

been a developer of drugs to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

Avexitide is a GLP-1 antagonist drug that help treat low

blood sugar, the opposite of what diabetes and weight-loss

medicines such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy,

and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Mounjaro and Zepbound do.

In April, Amylyx announced its plans to remove Relyvrio -

its approved drug for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - from

the market after failing in a key late-stage trial.

Amylyx did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for

comment.

Eiger has tested avexitide in mid-stage studies as a

potential treatment for low blood sugar caused by bariatric

surgery and also a metabolic disorder called congenital

hyperinsulinism.

Congenital hyperinsulinism occurs in newborns and causes

permanent brain damage and life-long insulin-dependent diabetes.

Separately, Eiger had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in

April.