Neomorph will receive upfront and near-term milestone payments, R&D funding, and milestone payments, totalling $1.46bn from Novo Nordisk, in exchange for exclusive rights to develop and commercialise the compounds emerging from the collaboration
Novo Nordisk headquarters, Denmark. (Credit: Novo Nordisk A/S)
US-based biotechnology company Neomorph has partnered with Dutch healthcare company Novo Nordisk to discover, develop, and commercialise molecular glue degraders.
Established in 2020, Neomorph is engaged in the discovery of novel therapeutics against ‘undruggable’ targets and is backed by venture capital firm Deerfield Management.
Under the collaboration and licensing agreement between the two companies, Neomorph will receive upfront and near-term milestone payments, along with R&D funding.
The US biotech form will also receive clinical, commercial and sales milestone payments, bringing the total deal value to $1.46bn, plus tiered royalties.
Neomorph co-founder, president, and CEO Phil Chamberlain said: “We are incredibly excited to partner with Novo Nordisk, a world-class healthcare company within diabetes, obesity and rare blood disorders.
“By combining Neomorph’s proprietary glue discovery platform with Novo Nordisk’s vast experience in cardiometabolic and rare diseases, we are well-positioned to develop transformative treatments in these areas.
“This collaboration will enable the expansion of our platform into new therapeutic areas, complementing our ongoing efforts in oncology.”
Neomorph will lead discovery and preclinical activities against selected targets.
Novo Nordisk will have the right to exclusively pursue further clinical development and commercialisation of the compounds emerging from the collaboration.
In November last year, the Danish healthcare company invested more than DKK42bn ($6bn) to expand its existing manufacturing facilities in Kalundborg, Denmark.
In addition, the company also invested more than €2.1bn to expand its current production site in Chartres, France to produce current and future product portfolio within serious chronic diseases.
Novo Nordisk global research technologies senior vice president Brian Vandahl said: “Novo Nordisk is expanding its drug discovery efforts and deploying a range of novel technology platforms with the aim of discovering and developing new treatment solutions for people living with serious chronic diseases.
“We are pleased to enter this research collaboration and eager to start the scientific work on the novel class of molecular glue degraders being pioneered by Neomorph.”