Novo Holdings invests in Orbis Medicines to advance macrocycle manufacturing

Novo Holdings has joined a $92.8 million (€90 million) Series A financing round for Orbis Medicines to support the development of its nGen platform, which integrates automated chemistry and machine learning to manufacture oral macrocycle drugs. The technologies aim to overcome manufacturing challenges in producing oral alternatives to blockbuster biologic drugs.

Orbis’ nGen platform focuses on optimizing macrocycles for oral bioavailability, a long-standing hurdle in drug manufacturing. The company’s pipeline targets the conversion of biologic drugs, traditionally delivered by injection, into scalable oral treatments. 

Novo Holdings Partner Morten Graugaard will lead Orbis as CEO, having previously served nearly three years as executive chair of its board of directors. Founded in 2021 with backing from Novo Holdings, Orbis builds on research from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) scientists to pioneer scalable processes for macrocycle drug production.

The investment highlights the growing potential for oral macrocycle drugs to reshape pharmaceutical manufacturing. By addressing bioavailability and production challenges, Orbis aims to provide cost-effective, patient-friendly alternatives to biologics while advancing drug development capabilities.

The Series A round was led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from existing investors Novo Holdings and Forbion, as well as new investors including Eli Lilly, Cormorant, and the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark.