Novo Nordisk, Deep Apple Launch Drug Discovery Alliance For Weight Loss Oral Therapies

Deep Apple Therapeutics, Inc. announced on Wednesday a research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S NVO to discover, develop, and commercialize oral small molecule therapeutics directed at a novel non-incretin GPCR target for cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity.Under the terms of the agreement, Deep Apple will discover and optimize compounds using its proprietary drug discovery platform, which combines machine-learning-powered virtual screening with structural biology enabled by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) to dramatically improve speed, quality, and novelty in lead generation and optimization.Novo Nordisk will receive exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the resulting compounds and products in all indications.Also Read: Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy Tied To Increased Risk Of Rare Vision-Loss Disorder, European Regulators SayBoth companies will collaborate on the research plan, with program handoff to Novo Nordisk occurring immediately before the start of IND-enabling studies.Deep Apple is eligible to receive an upfront payment, research costs, and milestone payments from Novo Nordisk.Deep Apple will be eligible to receive up to $812 million in payments and potential royalties on sales of any products that emerge from the collaboration.Recently, the Danish pharma giant initiated a Phase 3 trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cagrilintide sc combined with semaglutide sc (CagriSema sc) once weekly for weight management and long-term weight maintenance in obese participants.The two-part study in around 600 participants will last about 3 years and 3 months.In March, Novo Nordisk announced headline results from the REDEFINE 2 phase 3 trial in the global REDEFINE program.REDEFINE 2 is a 68-week efficacy and safety trial investigating once-weekly subcutaneous CagriSema compared to placebo.After 68 weeks, 61.9% of patients treated with CagriSema were on the highest dose.When evaluating treatment effects, if all people adhered to treatment, people treated with CagriSema achieved a weight loss of 15.7% after 68 weeks compared to 3.1% with placebo.Last week, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.REGN released interim results from the ongoing Phase 2 COURAGE trial evaluating Regeneron’s trevogrumab (anti-GDF8/anti-myostatin) with semaglutide (GLP-1 receptor agonist) with or without garetosmab (anti-activin A) for obesity.The trial demonstrated that approximately 35% of semaglutide-induced weight loss was due to the loss of lean mass.Price Action: NVO stock is up 0.04% at $79.36 at the last check Wednesday. Eli Lilly’s Obesity Drug Success Spurs Japanese Biotech’s Anti-Muscle-Wasting Combo Therapy Photo by JHVEPhoto via Shutterstock