Novo Nordisk, the drugmaker behind the hit obesity treatment Wegovy, signed research deals with a pair of biotechs backed by Flagship Pioneering, agreeing to pay as much as US$1.1 billion to develop new technologies to tackle diseases linked to weight.  

The first project, with Omega Therapeutics, aims to use the body’s mechanisms for controlling how genes work to treat obesity by boosting metabolism, instead of reducing the appetite. The second, with Cellarity, will target a drug for an obesity-related liver disease called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or Mash. 

Both projects are early research, far from reaching patients. They’re part of Novo’s effort to broaden its experimental pipeline, as the Danish drugmaker seeks to maintain its lead in the fast-growing field of obesity drugs. 

Novo will reimburse research and development costs. Each agreement is also worth up to US$532 million in upfront and potential milestone payments, plus royalties. The startup companies will share the funding with Flagship. 

Novo signed a broader deal in 2022 to work with Flagship, the venture capital firm behind US vaccine maker Moderna. The two companies said then they hoped to start three to five research programmes at Flagship startups within the first three years of the partnership. BLOOMBERG