Novo, Vivtex Ink $2.1 Billion Deal To Develop Oral Medicines For Obesity And Diabetes

• Vivtex will license select drug-delivery technologies to Novo Nordisk and could receive up to $2.1 billion.
• The partnership looks to enable biologic drugs, which are typically given by injection due to poor absorption, to be delivered orally.
• This partnership comes a day after Novo announced plans to cut U.S. prices for Ozempic and Wegovy by up to 50% from 2027.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with Vivtex Corp. to develop next-generation oral biologic medicines for obesity, diabetes, and related conditions.

Under the agreement, Vivtex will license select oral drug-delivery technologies to Novo Nordisk and could receive up to $2.1 billion in upfront payments, research funding, milestones, and tiered royalties on future sales.

“Partnering with Novo Nordisk allows us to apply our platform across important metabolic disease areas, with the goal of enabling oral therapies that would otherwise require injection,” said Thomas von Erlach, CEO and co-founder of Vivtex.

NVO shares were down 1.8% at the time of writing.

Focus On Oral Delivery

The partnership combines Novo’s expertise in peptide and protein therapies with Vivtex’s gastrointestinal screening tools, drug-delivery technologies, and AI-based platform aimed at improving drug absorption.

The collaboration aims to enable biologic drugs, which are typically given by injection due to poor absorption, to be delivered orally. Novo Nordisk will lead global development, regulatory approval, manufacturing, and commercialization of any resulting products, it said.

Oral obesity pills are seen as a key focus area in the obesity market, eliminating the need for injections and giving patients greater flexibility.

This comes a day after Novo Nordisk announced plans to cut U.S. prices for Ozempic and Wegovy by up to 50% starting in 2027.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits remained in the ‘extremely bullish’ zone over the past 24 hours, amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes.

One user sees the stock as a “short-term buy” option.

Another user said the stock was ‘undervalued.’

Year-to-date, the stock is down around 27%.

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