Novo Nordisk has announced a partnership with Boston-based Vivtex to develop new oral weight loss drugs. The deal, revealed on Wednesday, could be worth up to $2.1 billion, including research funding and milestone payments. Vivtex will also receive tiered royalties from product sales.
The agreement follows Novo Nordisk’s recent setback in the clinic when its next-generation obesity drug CagriSema was outperformed by Eli Lilly’s Zepbound in a late-stage study. In that trial, patients taking CagriSema lost an average of 23% of their body weight after 84 weeks, compared to 25.5% for those on Zepbound.
Under the terms of the new partnership, Novo Nordisk will gain access to Vivtex’s proprietary platform and drug-delivery technologies designed to enable oral delivery of biologic therapies that are typically administered by injection. Vivtex will handle early research and drug formulation, while Novo Nordisk will select which programs to advance and take responsibility for further development, regulatory approval, manufacturing, and commercialization.
This move is part of Novo Nordisk’s broader strategy to compete with Eli Lilly in the growing market for oral obesity treatments. Last year, Novo received FDA approval for an oral version of Wegovy, which quickly reached nearly 3,100 patients in its first week on pharmacy shelves.
Despite being first to market with several GLP-1 based therapies such as Ozempic (semaglutide), Novo has seen Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide products surpass its own semaglutide family in sales and performance. Studies have shown better weight-loss and glucose control outcomes with tirzepatide products compared to semaglutide.
Novo Nordisk executives remain committed to expanding their portfolio in obesity and diabetes treatments. Tamara Darsow, senior vice president of global business development at Novo Nordisk, said her team is focused on finding new assets in these areas: "Speaking on the sidelines of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Novo business development executive Tamara Darsow said the company is gunning for obesity and diabetes assets."
Earlier this year, Novo secured a deal with China’s United Laboratories for a triple agonist targeting GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors. Preliminary results showed nearly 20% weight loss after 24 weeks.
Vivtex was founded by MIT scientists Thomas von Erlach, Giovanni Traverso and Robert Langer. The company specializes in advancing oral delivery methods using its GI-ORIS high-throughput screening platform—a technology described as a “GI tract on a chip.” While previous programs focused on autoimmune diseases, this collaboration marks Vivtex's expansion into metabolic disease research.
