Overview
- Novo Nordisk and Vivtex announced a licensing and research collaboration to develop next-generation oral biologic medicines for obesity, diabetes and related conditions.
- Vivtex is eligible for up to $2.1 billion in upfront consideration, research funding and milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on future product sales.
- Under the agreement, Vivtex will provide select oral drug-delivery technologies, and Novo Nordisk will take over global development, regulatory work, manufacturing and commercialization after formulation selection.
- Vivtex’s platform uses high-throughput gastrointestinal screening with robotics and AI—described by the company as a GI tract on a chip—to rapidly optimize oral bioavailability, which the company says correlates strongly with human absorption.
- The move expands Novo Nordisk’s oral pipeline following its recent launch of an oral Wegovy pill and is framed as a competitive response to rivals pursuing oral GLP-1 therapies, notably Eli Lilly.