Novo Nordisk and Aspect Biosystems have announced that they are entering a new phase of their existing partnership, which is focused on developing cellular medicines to treat diabetes.
The two companies have collaborated on cellular medicines to boost, replace or repair biological functions since 2023. The new phase will draw on joint work already performed as part of the partnership.
Aspect will lead the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of treatments created by the partnership, having acquired the rights to use Novo Nordisk’s stem cell-derived islet and cell and hypoimmune cell engineering technologies. Novo Nordisk’s expertise and capabilities in cell therapy research, development and manufacturing, as well as its US and Denmark experience, will be merged with Aspect’s platform, which is based in Canada. The combination of both companies’ knowledge and technologies will enable end-to-end development and manufacturing at Aspect.
Aspect’s platform will be used in the development of a new class of cellular medicines, designed to treat, and potentially cure, metabolic and endocrine diseases. One medicine generated by the platform will be an islet replacement treatment for type 1 diabetes. This medicine could restore control over blood glucose while eliminating the necessity for chronic suppression of the immune system.
The cellular medicines designed by Aspect are intended to be allogeneic, enabling scalable manufacturing using off-the-shelf cells.
Novo Nordisk maintains the right to have an increased role in later-stage development and commercialisation of resulting products. Additionally, it plans to make an equity investment in Aspect and provide funding for research into curative treatments. As a result, Novo Nordisk will be eligible for milestone payments and royalties resulting from Aspect’s future product sales.
Jacob Sten Petersen, senior vice president, global research at Novo Nordisk, said: “Novo Nordisk was founded on a commitment to improve the lives of people living with diabetes. That commitment is as strong now as it was 100 years ago, and we have a continued focus on bringing innovation to people living with type 1 diabetes through internal and external innovation efforts.
“Aspect brings tremendous expertise and capabilities in cellular medicines and we are proud of our partnership with them to progress transformative cell therapies toward clinical development and potentially generating a functional cure for people living with diabetes.”
Tamer Mohamed, founder and CEO at Aspect Biosystems added: “Our partnership with Novo Nordisk combines more than a century of their global leadership in the fight against diabetes with Aspect’s leadership in cell therapy and our biotech speed and agility, creating a powerful force multiplier to deliver clinical impact.
“By integrating key technologies and capabilities, we are strengthening our full-stack platform, accelerating our path to curative cell therapies, and advancing our vision to build a generational biotechnology company that delivers global impact for people living with serious diseases.”