Novo Nordisk A/S entered into a global technology licensing agreement with US-based oral biologics delivery company Vivtex Corporation that will see Novo gain access to selected components of Vivtex’s GI-ORIS platform for the development of next-generation oral peptide therapeutics targeting obesity, type 2 diabetes, and related metabolic disorders. The agreement grants Novo Nordisk worldwide rights to apply Vivtex’s gastrointestinal screening and formulation technologies to undisclosed biologic drug candidates across its metabolic disease portfolio, with the Danish firm assuming responsibility for downstream development, manufacturing, regulatory submission, and commercialization activities.
Under the terms of the deal, Vivtex will receive an upfront payment and committed research funding, alongside potential development and commercial milestone payments totaling up to USD 2.1 billion, as well as tiered royalties on future global product sales. Further financial details were not disclosed. The collaboration is structured around platform access rather than the licensing of a named drug candidate, with Novo Nordisk seeking to incorporate Vivtex’s in vitro gastrointestinal modelling tools into its internal peptide formulation workflows.
Deal context
Vivtex’s GI-ORIS platform is designed to evaluate and optimize oral delivery strategies for large-molecule therapeutics, including peptide and protein drugs that typically demonstrate limited intestinal permeability when administered via conventional oral routes. The system combines physiologically relevant in vitro gastrointestinal screening assays with computational modelling to assess drug-excipient interactions and predict human absorption outcomes across different formulation strategies. This approach is intended to support early-stage optimization of oral bioavailability for peptide-based therapies targeting incretin hormone pathways such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), and related metabolic regulators implicated in glycemic control and appetite modulation.
Novo Nordisk has previously pursued oral delivery strategies for incretin-based therapies, including the US FDA-approved oral GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide, which incorporates the absorption enhancer sodium N-[8-(2-hydroxybenzoyl) amino] caprylate (SNAC). The Vivtex collaboration may extend the company’s internal formulation capabilities to support oral administration of next-generation multi-agonist peptide candidates currently under preclinical and clinical evaluation for metabolic indications.