Licensing agreement focuses on a delivery technology that provides sustained-release injectable peptides and offers potential to reduce treatment burden in obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo (Novo Nordisk) is bolstering its obesity and type 2 diabetes pipeline through a new drug delivery licensing deal of up to €1.165 billion billion ($1.33 billion) with Swedish firm Nanexa AB.
Novo will gain access to up to five development programmes for Nanexa’s atomic layer deposition (ALD)-based long-acting injectable peptide formulations. Its PharmaShell® drug delivery platform works by controlling and enabling sustained release of active pharmaceutical ingredients through an ultra-thin inorganic coating applied to individual drug particles.
These programmes cover different administration-frequency profiles, with monthly and quarterly administration as target profiles. By supporting development of differentiated long-acting injectable drugs, it could enalbe less frequent dosing.
[The programmes are] intended to support the development of differentiated long-acting injectable drugs with the potential to reduce dosing frequency”
The agreement follows a recent strategic rebrand by Novo, driven by a decision to sharpen its obesity focus. This included committing to solely using ‘Novo’ going forward, with Novo Nordisk A/S remaining as the global company name.
In the current deal, the total sum Nanexa is eligible for includes €615 million in upfront milestone payments, as well as royalties.
David Westberg, Nanexa CEO said: “We are very excited about and proud of this license agreement with Novo and look forward to working with them to successfully develop products with less frequent dosing in obesity and type 2 diabetes indications.
“Following our license and option agreement with Moderna in 2025, this agreement further strengthens the external validation of PharmaShell as a broadly applicable drug delivery platform.”
Last month, Genentech also agreed a major obesity-focused licensing deal, this time for a potential first-in-class UCN2 (urocortin-2) analog peptide therapeutic from Hanmi Pharm.
At the time of the announcement, In-Young Choi, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of R&D Division of Hanmi Pharm said: “The paradigm of obesity treatment is evolving beyond simple weight reduction toward improving body composition and restoring metabolic health. We are very pleased that the differentiated scientific mechanism and development potential of HM17321 have been recognised by the global market.”
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