- PMLiVE
Novo Nordisk and Gensaic have entered into a partnership worth up to $354m to develop new therapies for cardiometabolic diseases.
The license and discovery collaboration will utilise Novo’s drug development experience and Gensaic’s protein design technology, and will focus on discovering tissue targeting ligands and developing new therapeutic candidates to treat cardiometabolic diseases via undisclosed targets.
Tissue targeting allows drugs to be delivered to a specific site or group of cells in the body. The approach is considered key to unlocking the next generation of precision medicines, however, there is a need to discover new biological mechanisms for therapeutic delivery to selected organs or cell types beyond the liver.
Gensaic’s FORGE technology engine combines “unbiased protein evolution with machine guided design to map and leverage the complex network of protein interactions that determine where molecules travel to in the body,” the biotech said.
The agreement will see Gensaic discover novel protein ligands, with Novo retaining rights to leverage these for further development.
In exchange, Gensaic will be eligible to receive up to $354m in upfront payments, development and commercial milestones per target, as well as tiered royalties. Novo Nordisk will also reimburse research and development costs and participate in a future financing round.
Uli Stilz, head of Novo’s Bio Innovation Hub, said: “Tissue targeting has so much potential – both in terms of the modalities that can be leveraged, but also for the diseases that can be addressed… By coupling Gensaic’s technology with our team’s deep understanding of disease and drug development, we have the potential to reach challenging targets, while increasing efficacy and reducing potential side effects.”
Gensaic’s chief executive officer and president, Lavi Erisson, added: “Combining Gensaic’s… FORGE engine with Novo Nordisk’s therapeutic and market insights creates powerful new opportunities.”
The announcement comes less than two months after Novo and Valo Health expanded their agreement to discover and develop new treatments for type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, with the deal now worth $4.6bn
Novo also recently partnered with Ascendis Pharma to develop therapies for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, including a once-monthly GLP-1 receptor agonist that will initially target type 2 diabetes and obesity.