Novo Nordisk licenses Nanexa's PharmaShell delivery technology in deal worth up to $1.33 billion

Novo Nordisk has signed a global licensing deal with Swedish drug-delivery company Nanexa AB worth up to $1.33 billion, giving Novo exclusive rights to use Nanexa's PharmaShell technology in up to five development programs for obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions ^[2]. Bloomberg valued the agreement at as much as €1.165 billion, or about $1.3 billion ^[1].

The stated goal is long-acting injections. Novo and Nanexa are targeting drugs that could be given monthly or quarterly ^[2], a shift from the weekly injections that define today's market. Novo makes Wegovy and Ozempic, both semaglutide, which are taken once a week.

How the technology works

PharmaShell uses a process called atomic layer deposition to apply an ultra-thin inorganic coating onto individual drug particles ^[2]. That shell is designed to control how quickly the drug dissolves and enters the body, which in principle allows a single injection to release medicine over a longer stretch of time ^[2]. Under the agreement, Novo will lead global development and commercialization of any products that come out of the collaboration ^[1].

The financial terms are lopsided in favor of a very small company. Nanexa trades on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in Stockholm and reported full-year 2025 revenue of roughly $3.89 million, a 48.4% increase over the prior year ^[2]. The company said it is eligible for an upfront payment worth around $700 million plus potential milestone payments tied to development and regulatory achievements, along with low single-digit royalties on future product sales ^[2].

Investors reacted sharply. Nanexa shares more than doubled early Friday after the deal was disclosed following Thursday's closing bell ^[2]. The stock soared more than 150% at the Stockholm open. Reports of where it landed differ: one account put the gain at around 114% by 11:50 a.m. local time, while a summary of the same report said the stock pared its rise to about 135% ^[2]. Either way, the move left the shares roughly 12% below their all-time high from November 2015 ^[2].

"With this agreement, Nanexa enters a new era of considerable financial strength," chair Göran Ando said, adding that the money lets the company expand its atomic layer deposition technology into other therapeutic areas ^[2]. CEO David Westburg said the deal gives Nanexa a foundation to advance additional internal programs toward clinical proof of concept ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

For people taking GLP-1 medicines, the practical promise here is fewer shots. A monthly or quarterly injection would mean 12 or 4 doses a year instead of 52 ^[2]. Injection frequency is one reason some people stop treatment, and these drugs generally have to be continued long term to maintain their effect.

But this is an early-stage bet, not a product. Which specific molecules Novo plans to pair with PharmaShell has not been disclosed, and there is no indication that any program has been tested in people. No clinical trial results, development timelines, regulatory filing dates or launch targets have been reported. The structure of the deal — up to five programs, with payments tied to future development and regulatory milestones ^[2] — signals that most of the work still lies ahead.

It is also not known how a long-acting version would be priced, how it would be covered by insurance, or how side effects would be managed. With a weekly injection, a dose can be stopped or adjusted relatively quickly if someone has trouble tolerating it. How a drug designed to release over a month or a quarter would behave in that situation has not been addressed publicly.

What happens next

Nanexa disclosed the agreement after the Stockholm market close on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, and the shares traded on the news Friday, Sept. 25 ^[2]. Novo now controls the development path ^[1]. No dates for preclinical or clinical milestones under the five programs have been announced.