(RTTNews) - Privately held Orbis Medicines has entered a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Novo Nordisk (NVO) to discover and develop next-generation oral therapies for cardiometabolic diseases, including conditions such as obesity and related metabolic disorders.

The agreement could be worth up to $1.4 billion in upfront, development, and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties on future product sales.

Orbis Medicines specializes in oral macrocycle drug discovery. Macrocycles are a class of molecules that can potentially target diseases that are difficult for conventional small-molecule drugs to address. The company's programs focus on developing oral alternatives to therapies that are often administered by injection.

Under the agreement, the two companies will work to discover and develop orally available macrocycle medicines for cardiometabolic targets. Novo Nordisk will also make a strategic investment in Orbis Medicines, although the size of the investment was not disclosed.

The collaboration will leverage Orbis' proprietary nGen platform, which combines generative artificial intelligence with high-throughput chemistry and screening technologies. The platform is designed to identify and optimize oral drug candidates with favorable drug-like properties and bioavailability.

According to Orbis, the partnership combines Novo Nordisk's experience in obesity and cardiometabolic diseases with Orbis' AI-enabled drug discovery capabilities. The companies aim to accelerate the development of a new class of orally available medicines for high-value therapeutic targets.

Morten Graugaard CEO of Orbis Medicines, said the collaboration offers an opportunity to advance oral medicines for cardiometabolic diseases while demonstrating the potential of AI-enabled macrocycle drug discovery.

The agreement adds to Novo Nordisk's efforts to expand its portfolio of oral therapies and supports Orbis Medicines' strategy of advancing its macrocycle discovery platform through partnerships.

NVO has traded between $35.12 and $64.16 over the past year. The stock closed Thursday's trading at $43.19, up 3.55%. During overnight trading session, the stock is at $43.23, up 0.09%.

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