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Novo Nordisk acquired Inversago Pharma for $1B for obesity drug development.
Novo Nordisk to acquire obesity drug maker Inversago Pharma for up to $1 billion to expand weight loss portfolio beyond GLP-1
Novo acquires Inversago for up to $1 billion, spotlighting troubled weight loss approach with peripheral CB1 inverse agonist
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Novo Nordisk acquired Montreal-based Inversago Pharma (announced 10 Aug 2023, completed September 2023) for up to USD 1.075 billion in cash — an approximately USD 600 million upfront asset-acquisition purchase price plus up to ~USD 475 million in contingent development and commercial milestones. The deal brought in Inversago's lead asset INV-202, since renamed monlunabant, an oral peripherally-acting CB1 receptor inverse agonist, extending Novo's obesity and metabolic-disease pipeline beyond its GLP-1 franchise. In a Phase 2a obesity trial (243 patients, 16 weeks; reported 20 Sep 2024) all doses achieved statistically significant weight loss, with the 10 mg dose producing a 7.1 kg reduction versus 0.7 kg on placebo; gastrointestinal adverse events and dose-dependent mild-to-moderate neuropsychiatric effects (anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbance) were observed, echoing the historic liability of the CB1-blocker class. Novo planned a larger Phase 2b obesity study to begin in 2025.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Inversago Pharma (this deal) | 2023 | $1.1B | 61 |
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Emisphere Technologies | 2020 | $1.4B | 90 |
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2019 | $3.3B | 88 |
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Vivtex Inc. | 2026 | $2.1B | 69 |
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 2021 | $3.3B | 68 |
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Forma Therapeutics Holdings Inc. | 2022 | $1.1B | 68 |
| Novo Nordisk A/S / Forma Therapeutics Holdings Inc. | 2022 | $1.1B | 58 |
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