Novo Nordisk Invests in Diabetes Treatment With Deal That Could Exceed $800 Million

By Carlo Martuscelli

Novo Nordisk A/S (NOVO-B.KO) said Friday that it has bought Ziylo--a U.K.-based company developing advanced treatments for diabetes--in a deal that could be worth more than $800 million.

The Danish pharmaceutical company didn't lay out the specific financial terms of the deal, but said it consisted of an upfront payment, with future payments contingent on certain milestones. The total payout could exceed $800 million once certain development, regulatory and sales milestones are achieved, it said.

Under the terms of the deal, Novo Nordisk acquired the rights to Ziylo's glucose binding molecule platform, a technology for the development of a next-generation insulin therapy called glucose responsive insulin. The new therapy could allow diabetic patients to avoid hypoglycemia, a risk associated with existing insulin treatments, it said.

Novo Nordisk said that before the deal closed, Ziylo spun out a number of its research activities to a new company called Carbometrics. Novo Nordisk said it entered a research collaboration with the new company, which retains the rights to develop glucose monitoring applications.

"We believe the glucose binding molecules discovered by the Ziylo team together with Novo Nordisk world-class insulin capabilities have the potential to lead to the development of glucose responsive insulin which we hope can remove the risk of hypoglycaemia and ensure optimal glucose control for people with diabetes," Novo Nordisk's senior vice president of global drug discovery, Marcus Schindler, said.

Write to Carlo Martuscelli at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2018 05:51 ET (09:51 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.