HQ Team
March 5, 2025: Novo Nordisk will pay Gensaic, Inc., a biotechnology company, an upfront payment of $354 million for the latter’s technology to discover tissue-targeting molecules.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gensaic’s protein design technology aims to discover new ligands (ions or molecules) to develop new therapeutic candidates to treat cardiometabolic diseases through undisclosed targets, according to a company statement.
Novo Nordisk will also reimburse research and development costs, and participate in a future financing round, and a Novo Nordisk executive will join Gensaic’s board as a non-voting observing member.
Drug delivery to specific cells
Gensaic will discover novel protein ligands, with Novo Nordisk retaining rights to leverage these for further development. The collaboration includes Novo Nordisk’s license and option right to advance multiple therapeutic programs through research, development, and commercialization.
Tissue targeting, which enables drug delivery to a specific site or group of cells in the body, is fundamental to unlocking the next generation of precision medicines. However, targeting beyond the liver remains a challenge, and there is a need to discover new biological mechanisms for therapeutic delivery to selected organs or cell types.
Gensaic uses its technology engine, to combine unbiased protein evolution with machine-guided design to map and leverage the complex network of protein interactions that determine where molecules travel in the body, according to the statement.
‘So much potential’
“Tissue targeting has so much potential – both in terms of the modalities that can be leveraged, but also for the diseases that can be addressed,” said Uli Stilz, Head of Novo Nordisk’s Bio Innovation Hub.
“Gensaic’s technology brings a novel approach, with the ability to screen tissue targeting ligands in an unbiased way. By coupling Gensaic’s technology with our team’s deep understanding of disease and drug development, we have the potential to reach challenging targets, while increasing efficacy and reducing potential side effects,” he said.
