Novo Nordisk's latest bet on obesity pills: $2.2 billion for biotech Sapterna

Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced a caller $2.2 cardinal woody with San Francisco-based biotech Sapterna (SEPN) for obesity pills — the latest successful a bid of moves by the Danish drugmaker arsenic it hopes to support its presumption arsenic 1 of 2 leaders successful the blistery obesity market.

Novo said Wednesday that the institution agreed connected an exclusive collaboration and licensing statement for "oral tiny molecules for obesity, Type 2 diabetes and different cardio-metabolic diseases," which are each the areas the existent GLP-1s address.

Sapterna's banal was up 64% successful pre-market trading Wednesday, portion Novo's traded up a small implicit 2%.

The woody is the latest successful a bid focused connected the pill marketplace for obesity, deemed the adjacent frontier successful the contention for the adjacent procreation of value nonaccomplishment drugs. Novo already has an oral mentation of its apical value nonaccomplishment injectable, Wegovy, awaiting FDA approval. It could spot a determination from the FDA by the extremity of this year.

Investors person been watching Novo's moves intimately arsenic Wegovy has begun to suffer ground, based connected medicine data, to rival Eli Lilly's (LLY) Zepbound.

Novo besides recently announced a $1.75 cardinal deal with Lexicon (LXRX) for an oral obesity attraction presently successful development.

In summation to the deals for pills, the institution has besides secured deals to assistance boost entree to its drugs. Notably a woody with CVS (CVS) to beryllium the exclusive cause connected its formulary for obesity, and deals with telehealth companies similar Hims & Hers (HIMS) to assistance scope patients consenting to wage cash. The woody with CVS besides includes a currency wage option, for $499 per month, astir fractional the database terms of the drug.

The woody with Septerna puts the biotech successful complaint done the aboriginal find and dosing phase, and erstwhile a pb enactment is chosen Novo volition instrumentality implicit accumulation and development. Septerna volition person $195 cardinal up front, and up to $500 cardinal further for each of its 4 existent pill candidates if they marque it done aboriginal trials.

JPM analysts said successful a enactment to clients the determination was a wide boost for Septerna. The biotech had faced immoderate setbacks successful different cause candidates, and arsenic of past year-end had $421 cardinal successful currency connected hand, which would assistance enactment its operations into 2028.

"We presumption this morning’s pre-market determination (+70%) arsenic due and stay bullish connected the imaginable for Septerna’s level to present worth done tiny molecule solutions," the analysts said Wednesday.

Anjalee Khemlani is the elder wellness newsman astatine Yahoo Finance, covering each things pharma, insurance, attraction services, integer health, PBMs, and wellness argumentation and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee arsenic AnjKhem connected societal media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.