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Novo Nordisk will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the drug UBT251, while United Biotechnology will, however, retain the rights to the drug in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
Drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) on Monday entered into an exclusive license agreement worth up to $2 billion with China-based United Biotechnology (Hengqin) Co. for a drug used to treat obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases.
Novo Nordisk will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the drug UBT251. United Biotechnology will, however, retain the rights to the drug in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
United Biotechnology is a wholly-owned unit of China-based United Laboratories International Holdings.
The company recently initiated a phase two trial for UBT251 in people with overweight or obesity in China.
The unit will be eligible to receive an upfront payment of $200 million and milestone payments of up to $1.8 billion from Novo Nordisk and tiered royalties on net sales as part of the agreement.
In a recent clinical trial for the drug conducted in China, United Biotechnology noted that the average weight of the people who completed the trial with high doses of the drug decreased by 15.1% from baseline, Novo Nordisk said in a statement.
The company added that closing the transaction between the two companies will be subject to regulatory clearance.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Novo Nordisk shares climbed to the ‘bullish’ territory (58/100) from ‘neutral’ while message volume jumped from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ over the past 24 hours.
One Stocktwits user questioned the new agreement.
Novo Nordisk shares traded 2% lower on Monday afternoon. The stock is down 14% this year and nearly 42% over the past 12 months.
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