Novo Nordisk, Valo Health expand drug discovery collaboration

The company states: “Novo Nordisk (NVO) A/S and Valo Health, Inc. today announced they have entered into an expanded agreement to discover and develop novel treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease based on Valo’s extensive human dataset and computation powered by artificial intelligence. The companies originally partnered in September 2023 in an agreement that allowed for the development of up to 11 drug programmes, primarily focused on cardiovascular disease, through which Valo was eligible to receive up to 2.7 billion US dollars in milestone payments, plus R&D funding and potential royalty payments. Under the terms of the expanded agreement, Valo is entitled to receive an upfront payment, equity investment, and a potential near-term milestone payment, totalling 190 million dollars, and is now eligible to receive milestone payments for up to 20 drug programmes, an addition of 9 new drug programmes, totalling approximately 4.6 billion dollars, plus R&D funding and potential royalty payments. The expanded collaboration will continue to leverage the capabilities of Valo’s Opal Computational Platform(TM), as well as key joint capabilities in human data and genetics with Novo Nordisk’s expertise in cardiometabolic diseases.”