Aspect Biosystems recently announced a $2.6 billion collaboration with pharma giant Novo Nordisk to partner on the development of bioprinted tissue therapeutics for diabetes and obesity. As part of the deal, Aspect will receive an upfront payment of $75 million and up to $650 million per product for up to 4 products, resulting in a total deal value of over $2.6 billion-plus tiered royalties on product sales.
Why is Novo working with Aspect Biosystems?
Aspect Biosystems and Novo Nordisk are going to collaborate to develop implantable bioprinted tissue therapeutics that are designed to replace, repair, or supplement biological functions inside the body with the aim of delivering a new class of disease-modifying treatments for diabetes and obesity. This partnership will utilize Aspect’s proprietary bioprinting technology and Novo Nordisk’s expertise and technology in stem cell differentiation and cell therapy development and manufacturing.
Plus this partnership will initially focus on developing bioprinted tissue therapeutics designed for maintaining normal blood glucose levels without the need for immunosuppression – which could serve as a transformative treatment for the millions of people around the world living with type 1 diabetes.
Aspect developed a platform technology that could allow for the development of a novel class of cell-based medicine designed to be biologically functional, encapsulated to be immune-protective, and suitable for surgical implantation. And Novo Nordisk has developed expertise to differentiate stem cells into a wide array of cells that could be used to replace damaged and lost cells which may lead to a specific disease such as insulin-producing beta cells in type 1 diabetes and manufacturing capabilities to produce the cells at scale.
By combining the strengths of each company, the goal of the collaboration is to develop implantable bioprinted tissues to replace, repair or supplement biological functions. And these tissues will be designed to be allogeneic, meaning the cells used are derived from a single source to increase the viability of future large-scale manufacturing.
This collaboration will initially focus on developing bioprinted tissue therapeutics designed to maintain normal blood glucose levels without the need for immunosuppression – which could represent a transformative treatment for people living with type 1 diabetes.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are thrilled to partner with Novo Nordisk, a global leader and pioneer in the fight against diabetes and chronic diseases, to create breakthrough therapeutics that could transform the lives of millions of people around the world. This partnership leverages Aspect’s full-stack tissue therapeutic platform, talented team and bold vision, and reinforces our strategy to create bioprinted tissue therapeutics through partnerships with global industry leaders while also advancing our internal therapeutic pipeline.”
— Tamer Mohamed, chief executive officer, Aspect Biosystems
“Novo Nordisk has built strong capabilities when it comes to producing functional and highly pure therapeutic replacement cells at the highest quality and at scale. Collaborating with Aspect Biosystems adds an important component to our strategy to develop comprehensive cell therapy products. We are excited to co-develop solutions for cell therapy delivery that could lead to life-changing treatments for those living with a serious chronic disease.”
— Jacob Sten Petersen, corporate vice president and head of Cell Therapy R&D, Novo Nordisk
