Novo Nordisk’s business development team held 200 meetings during the recent J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, as the company looks to move forward after its unsuccessful bid for Metsera last fall.
“[Metsera] was a company that was very interesting to us and very complimentary to what we do. Of course, we wanted it. We were sorry to see it go,” said Tamara Darsow, senior vice president of global business development at Novo Nordisk, in an interview with BioSpace. “But it also was, from our perspective, a bit of financial discipline and there was a limit to what we were willing to pay for it.”
The company is adjusting its business development strategy under new CEO Mike Maziar Doustdar. Darsow noted that leadership changes often bring strategic shifts. “As with any time when there’s a leadership change, there’s some strategic thinking and some changes that come,” she said. “I think we have some very good clarity now on what that looks like moving forward, and so that that gives us a lot of confidence on how to execute in 2026.”
Novo Nordisk has not traditionally been known for acquisitions but has increased dealmaking activity recently. In October, the company acquired Akero Therapeutics for $5.2 billion, adding a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) therapy to its pipeline.
Darsow described her team as open regarding deal structure and said recent acquisitions made sense because they fit well into Novo’s existing pipeline. The company has also entered several licensing agreements, including one with China’s United Laboratories in March involving a triple agonist targeting GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors—a weight loss partnership valued at $200 million upfront and up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments.
Novo Nordisk is focused on expanding its obesity and diabetes portfolios by seeking novel mechanisms and improved therapies for these diseases. In diabetes research specifically, Darsow mentioned interest in insulin sensitizers and beta cell preservation technologies.
She emphasized the impact of semaglutide—Novo’s GLP-1 therapy—on diabetes treatment globally but noted continued opportunity in the weight loss market despite increasing competition from biotech firms: “Five years ago, if you were looking for novel obesity companies, they were few and far between. Now we see this huge expansion of interest and investments in this area,” Darsow said. “I think that is just good for the entire industry and the entire ecosystem.”
According to Darsow, Novo Nordisk positions itself as an ideal partner in obesity due to its expertise with semaglutide and ongoing work on next-generation assets.
Beyond obesity and diabetes treatments, Novo is also exploring rare disease assets—including rare blood diseases—and conditions related to obesity that complement its portfolio; Akero Therapeutics serves as an example of this approach.
Darsow highlighted Novo's broad dealmaking activities across both early- and late-stage companies and mentioned the presence of a scouting team in China focused on identifying new obesity assets.
Reflecting on the Metsera bidding process, Darsow said it demonstrated Novo's determination: “We need to know what we want and move with intention and expect competition,” she said.
