Vivtex’s technology uses AI and high throughput screening to identify the combinations of drug ingredients that can deliver peptides through gastrointestinal tissue. Besides Novo Nordisk, the MIT spinout’s partners include Astellas Pharma, Equillium, and Orbis Medicines.
Beyond weight reduction and long-term maintenance of weight loss, the FDA decision for oral Wegovy covers use of the once-daily pill for reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events. Novo Nordisk expects the Wegovy tablet will launch in early January.
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Pfizer’s offer of up to $86.25 in cash for each share of obesity drugs developer Metsera share tops the up to $86.20 Novo Nordisk was willing to pay. The financial consideration and the greater certainly of a deal close tipped the balance in Pfizer’s favor, ending a bidding war for Metsera and its next-generation obesity medications.
Pfizer claims Metsera breached their merger agreement, adding that a tie-up of the biotech with GLP-1 drug giant Novo Nordisk would violate U.S. antitrust law. Metsera called the arguments “nonsense” and said Pfizer is trying to buy the obesity drug developer for less than what Novo is willing to pay.
Acquisition talks for Metsera that played out this year culminated in an agreement with Pfizer, which agreed to buy the obesity drug developer for $4.9 billion. Novo Nordisk, a finalist in that pursuit, is positioning itself as a deal spoiler with a new unsolicited offer that shells out much more upfront cash.
Novo Nordisk is paying $240 million up front for global rights to zaltenibart, an Omeros drug that blocks the MASP-3 protein to treat diseases caused by excessive activity of the complement system. This antibody drug is on track for pivotal testing that could show superiority over blockbuster AstraZeneca drugs that are standard treatments for a rare blood disorder.
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Novo Nordisk is acquiring Akero Therapeutics for drug candidate efruxifermin, which executive say could be first and best in the emerging class of FGF21 analogs for the fatty liver disease MASH. The deal comes months after Novo’s internal FGF21 drug candidate failed a Phase 2 trial.
While Skye Bioscience said its drug nimacimab may yet achieve better weight loss results with higher doses, the company and analysts are interested in the drug’s potential to be combined with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Skye’s drug is an antibody designed to preferentially target CB1 receptors in the gut, offering an alternative approach to activating GLP-1 receptors.
September has seen a wide range of executive hires, exits, promotions and layoffs across the healthcare industry. For example, Medtronic, Amgen and Kaiser Permanente welcomed new executives. There were also layoffs at organizations including Novo Nordisk and Seattle Children’s.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are among the cardiometabolic diseases included in Novo Nordisk’s R&D pact with Replicate Bioscience, a deal that could pay out up to $550 million. Startup Replicate specializes in therapies and vaccines based on self-replicating RNA.
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Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 drug Wegovy expanded its label to include the metabolic disorder known as MASH. Analysts say there’s room for many MASH drugs with the treatment landscape expected to shape up to include combinations of therapies bringing different approaches to this fatty liver disease.
Novo Nordisk is ending its partnership with Hims & Hers due to concerns over its practices related to compounded GLP-1s.
Eli Lilly is partnering with Camurus, a company with technology that extends how long an injectable drug lasts in the body, permitting longer dosing intervals. Lilly plans to apply the technology to its metabolic medicines; the deal follows a similar move Novo Nordisk starting an alliance with Ascendis.
Eli Lilly reported that in addition to achieving greater reductions in weight, Zepbound-treated patients achieved greater reductions in waist circumference compared to those treated with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Full details from the head-to-head Phase 3 test were presented at the European Congress on Obesity meeting.
Hims & Hers is now offering discounted access to Wegovy, a GLP-1 manufactured by Novo Nordisk, on its platform.