Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk to acquire obesity drug developer in $1B deal

Novo Nordisk will acquire a Canadian pharmaceutical company developing obesity and diabetes treatments for just more than $1 billion, the Danish drugmaker announced Thursday.

Novo Nordisk, which already produces the popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, said it agreed to acquire Inversago Pharma for $1.075 billion with the hope of investigating the potential of its lead project to treat obesity and obesity-related complications. 

Inversago’s INV-202 acts through a different mechanism than Ozempic, Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, which all seek to treat diabetes or assist in weight loss efforts by activating GLP-1 receptors. 

INV-202, on the other hand, works by blocking CB1 receptors, which are involved in metabolism and appetite regelation.

“The acquisition of Inversago Pharma will further strengthen our clinical development pipeline in obesity and related disorders,” Martin Holst Lange, Novo Nordisk executive vice president for development, said in a statement Thursday. 

“This promising class of medicine pioneered by the Inversago team could lead to life-changing new treatment options for those living with a serious chronic disease and, in particular, may offer alternative or complementary solutions for people living with obesity,” he added.

François Ravenelle, the CEO of Inversago, similarly suggested that the acquisition would help “unlock the full medical potential of our CB1 blockers.”

“We are delighted to join forces with a global leader in the obesity and metabolic disorder space,” Ravenelle said in a statement.