Novo Nordisk has inked a collaboration with Vancouver-based Aspect Biosystems with the aim of delivering a new class of truly disease-modifying treatments for diabetes and obesity.
The deal will leverage Aspect’s proprietary bioprinting technology and Novo Nordisk’s expertise in stem cell differentiation and cell therapy development to create bioprinted tissue therapeutics designed to replace, repair, or supplement biological functions inside the body.
Aspect, which spun off from a University of British Columbia research lab in 2017, has developed a platform technology that may allow for development of a novel class of cell-based medicine designed to be biologically functional, encapsulated to be immune-protective and suitable for surgical implantation
The deal gives Novo Nordisk license to use Aspect’s technology to develop up to four products for the treatment of diabetes and/or obesity. Aspect will receive an initial payment of $75 million dollars and is also eligible to receive up to $650 million in future milestone payments per product — which means the deal could ultimately be worth close to $2.7 billion.
