Dive Brief:

Novo, while historically not big on buyouts, has turned to acquisitions over the past couple years to expand its slate of technologies and research programs. In late 2021, it agreed to spend north of $3 billion on Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a company specialized in so-called RNA interference. And in 2022, it picked up Forma Therapeutics in a $1 billion deal that provided an experimental drug for sickle cell disease in late-stage clinical testing.

Yet, Novos core business still revolves around diabetes and, more recently, obesity. Aided by newer drugs like Rybelsus, Wegovy and, especially, Ozempic, the company last year recorded a 26% increase in net sales and a 34% increase in gross sales.

The new collaboration with Aspect indicates that Novo sees further room to grow in its core areas. Per deal terms, Aspect is eligible to receive as much as $650 million for each resulting product, provided it hits certain developmental, regulatory, commercial and sales goals. Additionally, the biotech would get tiered royalties on future sales of any products.

The deal also further entrenches Novo in the field of cellular medicine. The company established a California-based manufacturing site dedicated to stem cell therapies in 2018. And currently, its researching ways that cell therapies could be used to treat illnesses like Parkinsons disease, chronic heart failure and Type 1 diabetes.

Partnering with Aspect adds an important component to our strategy to develop comprehensive cell therapy products, Jacob Sten Petersen, Novos head of cell therapy research and development, said in a statement.

Novo isnt alone in its pursuits, however. Just last month, Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that it would be licensing gene editing technology from CRISPR Therapeutics to develop therapies for Type 1 diabetes. The two companies had already been collaborating on a gene editing therapy for sickle cell and another blood disorder, and CRISPR had been working with the biotech Viacyte on its own Type 1 diabetes cell therapy program.

Vertex bought Viacyte last year for $320 million, hoping that the biotechs tools would help accelerate the development of VX-880, an experimental, stem-cell-derived therapy targeting Type 1 diabetes, which Vertex got through its $950 million acquisition of Semma Therapeutics in 2019.

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Novo's latest deal targets cell therapy for diabetes, obesity - BioPharma Dive