Metaphore Biotechnologies, a Flagship Pioneering company, is partnering up with Novo Nordisk to develop obesity management therapeutics.
This collaboration, which could lead to payments of up to $600 million from Novo Nordisk to Metaphore, forms part of a broader alliance between Novo Nordisk and Flagship aimed at creating innovative treatments for cardiometabolic and rare diseases.
Under the partnership, the companies will utilize Metaphore's MIMIC platform, a machine learning technology designed to mimic molecular interactions accurately. The goal is to develop up to two multitarget therapeutics that target GLP-1 receptor biology, crucial to obesity management. The drugs will aim to be scalable and require infrequent dosing, addressing a critical need for more durable obesity treatments.
The collaboration will be managed jointly by Pioneering Medicines, Flagship's in-house drug development unit, and Novo Nordisk's Bio Innovation Hub. Both parties will oversee the early foundational and preclinical development stages, with Novo Nordisk potentially continuing these programs into clinical trials.
The terms of the agreement include milestone payments and tiered royalties on the sales of any licensed products, alongside Novo Nordisk reimbursing R&D costs and participating in future financing rounds for Metaphore.