Novo Nordisk and NanoVation Therapeutics have entered into a multi-year partnership worth $600m to advance genetic medicines for cardiometabolic and rare diseases.
The deal combines Novo’s capabilities in the two areas with NanoVation’s proprietary long-circulating lipid nanoparticle (lcLNP) technology for RNA delivery to cells outside of the liver.
The companies will collaborate on two lead programmes to develop base-editing therapies for certain rare genetic diseases, with the agreement also covering up to five additional future targets for cardiometabolic and rare diseases.
Novo will be granted a defined exclusive, global licence to use the technology for the two lead programmes, while NanoVation will receive research funding and will be eligible for up to approximately $600m in upfront cash and potential milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties on future product sales.
NanoVation’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Dominik Witzigmann, said: “This agreement with Novo Nordisk and ongoing work with companies in the cell and gene therapy space is validation of the potential of our LNP technologies to enable the next generation of life-changing genetic medicines.”
NanoVation’s lcLNP technology has already been shown in preclinical studies to deliver nucleic acids to multiple cell types beyond the liver, and demonstrated improved potency, safety and stability compared to conventional systems.
Karina Thorn, corporate vice president, head of research, global nucleic acid therapies at Novo, said: “We look forward to partnering with NanoVation, as the company’s differentiated delivery platform could help Novo Nordisk to advance genetic medicine candidates with curative potential.”
Novo entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Neomorph in February aimed at discovering and developing molecular glue degraders, also for cardiometabolic and rare diseases.
The deal, which is potentially worth up to $1.46bn, centres around Neomorph’s proprietary glue discovery platform and gives Novo the option to exclusively pursue further clinical development and commercialisation of resulting compounds.
The company also announced two research collaborations with Omega Therapeutics and Cellarity in January to develop new treatment approaches for cardiometabolic diseases.