Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), a famous weight-loss medication manufacturer, established research partnerships with two American biotech companies on Thursday. This move is part of Novo Nordisk’s strategy to remain ahead of big pharma in the competition to create new therapies for cardiometabolic disorders.
Novo, a Danish pharmaceutical company, reported that its collaborations with Omega Therapeutics (OMGA.O.) and Cellarity Inc. might result in novel therapies for patients with obesity and MASH, a liver disease. Novo’s stock price increased 49% last year due to the increasing demand for its weight-loss medication, Wegovy.
In premarket trading in the United States, shares of Omega, a company located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, nearly quadrupled to $5.38. As of Wednesday’s closing, Omega’s market capitalization was around $150 million.
The first of the two distinct R&D partnerships was made public in 2022 as part of a framework agreement that Novo inked with Flagship Pioneering, a bio sciences-focused U.S. investment business.
Flagship has two portfolio companies: Omega and Cellarity. The businesses and Novo will collaborate on pre-clinical trial medication development. Then, Novo stated that it might move the programs into clinical trials.
Novo will cover the expenditures associated with research and development (R&D) under the terms of the individual agreements. Up to $532 million in upfront payments, marketing and development milestones, and tiered royalties on yearly net sales of a licensed product may be awarded under each agreement, divided between the participating firms and Flagship.
The initiative will enable innovation that neither Novo nor the other firms could accomplish alone, according to Uli Stilz, vice president of Novo’s Bio Innovation Hub in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who spoke with Reuters.
The work is being done in tandem with Novo’s later-stage trial collaborations and its purchase of other firms through bolt-on transactions, which increased last year as the company’s war chest rose on record earnings, according to Stilz, who will oversee the research alliances. “I can confirm that we will do all of it.”
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