TLDR
- Orbis Medicines and Novo Nordisk signed a drug discovery deal worth up to $1.4 billion
- The deal targets cardiometabolic diseases currently treated with injectable drugs
- Orbis will use its AI-powered nGen platform to develop oral macrocycle therapies
- Novo Nordisk will also make a strategic investment in privately held Orbis
- Macrocycles in preclinical studies have shown up to 18% oral bioavailability
Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Danish biotech Orbis Medicines announced a drug discovery and licensing deal on Thursday worth up to $1.4 billion, aimed at developing oral treatments for cardiometabolic diseases.
The partnership targets conditions that are currently treated with injectable drugs. The goal is to convert those injectable therapies into pills patients can swallow.
Orbis will use its AI-enabled nGen platform to discover macrocycles, a class of ring-shaped molecules. These can potentially reach disease targets that standard small-molecule drugs cannot.
Orbis CEO Morten Graugaard said the company’s synthetic macrocycles have shown up to 18% oral bioavailability in preclinical studies. That measures how much of a drug actually reaches the bloodstream after being swallowed.
“Together with Novo, we have an opportunity to unlock a new generation of oral medicines for cardiometabolic diseases,” Graugaard said.
Deal Structure
The agreement includes upfront payments, development and commercial milestone payments, and tiered royalties on future product sales. The full breakdown of the $1.4 billion has not been disclosed.
Novo Nordisk will also make a strategic equity investment in Orbis. Neither company revealed the size of that investment.
The collaboration builds on Novo’s existing oral peptide absorption technology, known as SNAC. Novo acquired that technology when it bought U.S. drug delivery company Emisphere Technologies in 2020.
A Novo spokesperson said the company continues to push innovation in this space through both internal research and external partnerships.
A Growing Field
The deal comes as oral macrocyclic drugs are gaining traction across the industry.
Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) received U.S. approval in March for Icotyde, an oral macrocyclic peptide for plaque psoriasis. Merck (MRK) followed in July with approval for Lipfendra, an oral macrocyclic peptide that lowers cholesterol.
Orbis is based in Copenhagen. The company says its nGen platform is designed specifically to find macrocycle drug candidates faster using artificial intelligence.
The multi-target collaboration means both companies will work across several disease areas within the cardiometabolic space, rather than focusing on a single drug or condition.
Novo has not commented on how this deal fits into its broader pipeline beyond noting it builds on existing oral drug delivery work.
As of Thursday, NVO shares were in focus following the announcement, with investors watching how the deal might expand Novo’s pipeline beyond its current injectable GLP-1 franchise.
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