In a bid to expand its obesity offerings, Novo Nordisk has signed a collaboration and licensing deal with US biotech Septerna to discover, develop, and commercialize oral small molecule medicines for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic diseases.
The total deal is valued at about $2.2 billion, with Septerna being in line to receive over $200 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments. The US biotech would also be eligible to receive “tiered royalties” on global net sales of marketed products. Septerna also has the option to “opt in to a worldwide profit share for one program in the collaboration in lieu of future milestones and royalties for that product candidate”.
While both companies will share the research cost from discovery through development candidate selection, Novo Nordisk will solely bear the financial burden for development and commercialization activities after the start of IND-enabling activities.
Following the news, Septerna’s stock was up by over 54% in market trading today. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
Partnership’s significance in the obesity space
Novo Nordisk has dominated the obesity market, with its weight loss drugs, Wegovy (semaglutide) and Saxenda (liraglutide), raking in DKK65.1 billion ($9 billion) in sales in 2024. However, it has received stiff competition from Eli Lilly’s dual glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist Zepbound (tirzepatide), which generated $4.9 billion in sales in 2024.
Routers also reported that Novo’s investors are concerned that the company’s weight loss therapy is losing its US market share to Zepbound. Novo Nordisk lowered its sales outlook in its Q1 2025 earnings report, citing “lower-than-planned penetration of branded GLP-1 treatments in the US”. The company cut its sales growth to a range of 13-21%, compared to earlier guidance of 16-24%.
Novo Nordisk and Septerna were vague about how many candidates they plan to develop, stating that they will start with four programs. These potential small-molecule therapies would be directed to one or more select G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets, including the GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors.
There has been multiple high-profile deals within the obesity space. In March, Roche signed a $5.3 billion deal to co-develop and co-commercialize Zealand Pharma’s obesity drug candidate. The same month, AbbVie marked its entry into the weight loss market with a $2.2 billion deal to license Gubra’s obesity drug.
