August 14, 2023: On Thursday, Novo Nordisk is planning to Purchase Inversago Pharma for increased to $1.8 Billion to broaden the Danish business’s blockbuster weight loss portfolio.

The deal is Novo Nordisk’s recent endeavor to capitalize on the weight losing industry gold rush, which started in the previous year after its Wegovy and Ozempic injections zoomed in popularity.

Novo Nordisk said in a release that the deal’s price depends on whether Inversago gets specific development and sales goals. The companies expect to close the acquisition before the end of the year.

Canada-based Inversago develops experimental therapies to treat people with obesity, diabetes, and other conditions affecting the body’s metabolism.

Inversago’s drugs use a different approach than most treatments in the obesity and diabetes space. They block a protein in the brain called cannabinoid receptor type 1, which recreates a role in metabolism and regulating a person’s appetite.

Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic work by mimicking a hormone produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite.

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

“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.

Inversago’s leading therapy is an oral drug that helped patients lose an average of 7.7 pounds after 28 days in a small phase-one clinical trial. Those who took a placebo in that trial gained 1 pound on average during the same period.

Novo Nordisk plans to investigate further the potential of the oral drug for obesity and obesity-related complications.

Separately, Novo Nordisk reported second-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook due to zooming demand for its obesity and diabetes products.

But the drugmaker said it is extending supply conditions in the U.S. for some doses of Wegovy.