Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US) invests up to $2.1 billion in partnership with Vivtex, doubling down on the next generation of oral weight loss drugs.

Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US) announced on Wednesday that it has reached a partnership agreement worth up to $2.1 billion with U.S.-based Vivtex to jointly develop the next generation of oral medications for treating obesity and diabetes. Under the partnership arrangement, the private company will license its oral drug delivery technology, while Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B will be responsible for global development and commercialization. The core value of this collaboration lies in Vivtex's revolutionary oral drug delivery research platform. The platform was developed with the participation of renowned scientist and Moderna co-founder Robert Langer and his team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and integrates advanced gastrointestinal chip models, high-throughput automation with Siasun Robot & Automation screening, and artificial intelligence predictive algorithms. Through this system, the research team can simulate the absorption process of drugs in the human intestinal tract at unprecedented speed, accurately identifying the best formulations out of thousands of complex combinations that significantly improve bioavailability, thus overcoming the intestinal absorption barrier that peptides and protein drugs have long struggled to cross. Some details include: Under the agreement, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B will pay an undisclosed upfront payment, as well as milestone payments and royalties on future product sales. The partnership aims to transform injectable biologics into oral formulations by improving their absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Both companies state that Vivtex's platform, utilizing intestinal screening, delivery technology, and AI tools, helps in the development of oral formulations for biologics. Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B currently offers GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, including Wegovy, Ozempic, and the oral diabetes medication Rybelsus. In January of this year, this Danish pharmaceutical company launched Wegovy tablets in the United States, the world's first oral medication for treating obesity.