Orbis Medicines and Novo Nordisk Launch Multi-Target Oral Macrocycle Discovery Deal Worth Up to USD 1.4 Billion
核心洞察
Orbis Medicines (搜索) and Novo Nordisk signed a strategic collaboration and license agreement to discover oral macrocycle therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases (搜索).
Orbis is eligible for up to USD 1.4 billion in upfront and potential development and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties on future sales.
The partnership leverages Orbis' AI-enabled nGen (搜索) platform, which designs orally bioavailable nCycles intended to replace injectable biologic medicines.
Orbis Medicines (搜索), a specialist in oral macrocycle drug discovery, announced a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Novo Nordisk to discover and develop next-generation oral macrocycle therapeutics for cardiometabolic diseases (搜索). The deal, disclosed on September 17, 2026, is structured around a multi-target discovery effort aimed at high-value therapeutic targets and seeks to accelerate development of a new class of orally available medicines.
Under the terms of the agreement, Orbis Medicines (搜索) is eligible to receive up to USD 1.4 billion in upfront and potential development and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties on future product sales. Novo Nordisk will also make a strategic investment in Orbis Medicines, which the companies said underscores confidence in the company's nGen (搜索) platform and its long-term potential.
An AI-Enabled Platform Aimed at Oral Bioavailability
The collaboration will leverage Orbis Medicines (搜索)' proprietary nGen (搜索) platform, which integrates generative AI with high-throughput synthesis capabilities. The platform's multi-parameter optimization (MPO) engine designs nCycles with drug-like properties, continuously improved through what the company describes as one of the industry's largest experimental macrocycle datasets, generated in real time via its lab-in-the-loop nGen platform.
According to the company, nGen (搜索) is designed to overcome the longstanding oral bioavailability and drug-likeness limitations of macrocycles, enabling rapid discovery of differentiated oral medicines against challenging targets. nCycles are described as a new class of fully synthetic macrocycle compounds optimized for oral bioavailability and membrane permeability. The lab-in-the-loop approach allows Orbis to design, synthesize and analyze thousands of distinct synthetic macrocycles in weeks; the scale and quality of data produced from these real compounds, paired with machine learning, are intended to de-risk and accelerate development.
"This collaboration reinforces that the future of oral biologic drug discovery lies at the intersection of AI, proprietary experimental macrocycle datasets and world-class automated chemistry," said Morten Graugaard, chief executive officer of Orbis Medicines (搜索). "Our nGen (搜索) platform continuously learns from data generated by our high throughput chemistry and screening platform to design orally bioavailable macrocycles with the potential to replace injectable medicines. Together with Novo, we have an opportunity to unlock a new generation of oral medicines for cardiometabolic diseases (搜索) and demonstrate the transformative potential of AI-enabled macrocycle drug discovery."
Novo Nordisk's Rationale
Novo Nordisk brings its leadership in obesity (搜索) and cardiometabolic disease to the partnership, which combines that franchise with Orbis Medicines (搜索)' AI-enabled macrocycle discovery platform.
"Orbis Medicines (搜索) has developed a differentiated platform for macrocycle drug discovery, combining deep expertise in macrocycle chemistry with AI-enabled molecular design," said Brian Vandahl, senior vice president, Therapeutics Discovery, at Novo. "We believe this collaboration has the potential to unlock innovative oral treatment options for patients with cardiometabolic diseases (搜索) while expanding the possibilities of macrocycle therapeutics."
Pipeline Focus and Company Background
Orbis Medicines (搜索)' pipeline is initially focused on nCycles directed against targets validated by blockbuster biologic drugs delivered by injection. Proof-of-concept of the company's work has been published in Nature Communications and Nature Chemical Biology.
The company has raised EUR 116 million in venture funding to date, including a EUR 90 million Series A round led by NEA with new investors Lilly Ventures, Cormorant, EIFO, and existing investors Forbion and Novo Holdings. Orbis Medicines (搜索) is located in Copenhagen, Denmark and Lausanne, Switzerland.
The agreement does not specify individual molecular targets, development timelines, or the number of programs to be pursued under the multi-target collaboration.