Novo licenses Nanexa’s long-acting injection platform in €1.165B deal

Why it matters: The new collaboration targets monthly and quarterly injections. If that longer dosing interval works in patients, it could give Novo another way to distinguish its weekly obesity and diabetes treatments, such as Wegovy and Ozempic, in diseases where treatment convenience is becoming a growing competitive advantage.

The deal: The €1.165 billion maximum includes €615 million in upfront, development and regulatory payments. The rest consists of potential sales milestones, with low single-digit royalties on future product sales. Novo will lead global development and commercialization.

How it works: PharmaShell applies an ultrathin coating to individual drug particles to control how quickly they release their active ingredient. Novo has licensed the technology for certain therapeutic peptides, but the companies have not named the drugs or given a development timeline.

Backstory: Novo began evaluating PharmaShell with its own products in 2022 and took a stake in Nanexa at the time. Nanexa said in 2023 that the work included a proposed monthly formulation of a drug Novo already marketed.

• Nanexa also signed a PharmaShell license and option agreement with Moderna in December 2025. That deal covered one selected compound and options for up to four more, subject to preclinical evaluation.