Novo Nordisk and Vivtex partner to develop next-generation oral medicines for obesity and diabetes

Core Insights - Novo Nordisk and Vivtex Corporation have formed a partnership to develop next-generation oral biologic medicines targeting obesity, diabetes, and related comorbidities [1][6] - Vivtex will license its oral drug-delivery technologies to Novo Nordisk, which could result in Vivtex receiving up to 2.1 billion US dollars in upfront payments, research funding, and milestone payments, along with tiered royalties on future product sales [1][6] Company Overview - Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company with a focus on chronic diseases, particularly diabetes, and has been innovating in protein and peptide engineering for decades [2][6] - Vivtex Corporation specializes in transforming the oral delivery of therapeutics, utilizing a robotics-driven platform that integrates high-throughput screening and AI-enabled analytics [5][6] Partnership Details - The collaboration aims to enable oral delivery of biologic drug candidates that are typically limited to injectable forms due to poor gastrointestinal absorption [2][3] - Novo Nordisk will take responsibility for global development, regulatory activities, manufacturing, and commercialization of any resulting products from this partnership [4] Technological Advancements - Vivtex's platform includes proprietary gastrointestinal screening assays and drug-delivery technologies designed to optimize the oral delivery of biologic medicines, achieving high oral bioavailability [3][5] - The partnership will leverage Vivtex's technologies to identify optimal oral formulations for peptide and protein therapeutics, enhancing their bioavailability [6]