Novo Nordisk and Vivtex sign deal worth up to $2.1 billion for oral obesity drugs

Novo Nordisk said Wednesday it will partner with Boston-based startup Vivtex in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion to develop next-generation oral drugs for obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases ^[1][2].

Under the agreement, privately held Vivtex will license some of its oral drug-delivery technology, while Novo Nordisk takes charge of global development and commercialization ^[1]. Novo will make an undisclosed upfront payment, plus milestone payments and royalties on future product sales ^[1]. BioPharma Dive reported that the guaranteed cash was not disclosed, and that Vivtex stands to gain as much as $2.1 billion plus sales royalties if drugs from the alliance progress and are eventually commercialized ^[2].

The aim is to turn biologic drugs, which are usually given by injection or intravenous infusion, into pills. Biologics are difficult to pack into pills because of their large size and the trouble they have getting through the stomach and digestive tract ^[2]. Vivtex's platform uses gut-screening tests, delivery technologies and AI tools to help make biologic drugs work as pills, the companies said ^[1]. The company uses a "gut-on-a-chip" approach that lets it quickly test many possible formulations of a drug in hopes of finding one that best passes through the gastrointestinal system and is taken up by the body ^[2].

Novo already sells GLP-1 drugs for obesity and type 2 diabetes, including Wegovy, Ozempic and the oral diabetes drug Rybelsus ^[1]. BioPharma Dive reported that Novo brought Rybelsus, which it described as the first oral biologic, to market in 2019, and that U.S. regulators approved an oral form of Wegovy at the end of 2025 ^[2]. Reuters reported that Novo launched the Wegovy pill, which it called the world's first oral obesity drug, in the U.S. in January ^[1].

Brian Vandahl, Novo's senior vice president of therapeutics discovery, said in a statement that the company is leaning on "both internal and external innovation" to find new cardiometabolic medicines ^[2].

Thomas von Erlach, Vivtex's CEO, said in an interview that "we realize there's a big need for having drugs available orally, and from what we can tell, every single patient indication would prefer to have a drug available via oral instead of needle administration" ^[2]. He co-founded Vivtex in 2018 with MIT professors Giovanni Traverso and Bob Langer ^[2]. Langer said in a statement that "advancements that make biologic medicines easier to take, while preserving their effectiveness, have the potential to significantly change patient care" ^[2].

Vivtex started as a diagnostics developer with a drug screening technology and has since become a frequent partner of companies aiming to develop oral biologics, forming alliances since early 2024 with Novo, Astellas Pharma, Orbis Medicines, Equillium and AI Proteins ^[2]. Von Erlach said the Novo deal had been years in the making ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

Most GLP-1 medicines for obesity and diabetes in the U.S. are injections, and the oral options Novo sells today are already on the market ^[1]. This deal is aimed at an earlier stage of research: making biologic drugs that are currently injected available as pills ^[1][2]. No product from the collaboration is available to patients, and the companies have not said which diseases or drug candidates they will pursue first ^[1][2]. The size of the deal reflects potential future payments tied to milestones and sales, not a sign that a pill is close to approval ^[1][2]. The upfront payment amount has not been disclosed ^[1][2].

What happens next

BioPharma Dive reported that Vivtex is eligible for payments only if drugs emerging from the alliance progress and are eventually commercialized ^[2]. Novo has not disclosed a timeline for clinical testing, how many programs the partnership covers, or which biologic drugs would be reformulated as pills ^[1][2].