Novo Nordisk to Acquire Ocedurenone from KBP Biosciences for Up to $1.3 Billion to Address Uncontrolled Hypertension

▎WuXi

Edited by Kant Content Team

Novo Nordisk and KBP Biosciences announced today,Novo Nordisk has agreed to acquire ocedurenone from KBP Biosciences for up to $1.3 billion to treat uncontrolled hypertension.This drug has potential application value in cardiovascular and renal diseases.

Approximately one-third of adults worldwide suffer from hypertension. Despite the availability of various oral antihypertensive treatments, up to 80% of individuals still have uncontrolled symptoms. Poor adherence to existing daily oral medications leads to inconsistent blood pressure control and an increased risk of stroke, heart attacks, and premature death.

Ocedurenone is an orally administered small-molecule non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (nsMRA)., which is currently in Phase 3 clinical trial CLARION-CKD among patients with uncontrolled hypertension and advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Uncontrolled hypertension refers to the condition where a person's blood pressure remains high despite receiving two or more antihypertensive treatments.

To date, ocedurenone has been studied in nine clinical trials, including the Phase 2 BLOCK-CKD trial.BLOCK-CKD Trial Meets Primary Endpoint, Showing Clinically Meaningful and Statistically Significant Improvement in Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) from Baseline to Day 84 in Patients with Stage IIIb/IV CKD and Uncontrolled Hypertension.No severe hyperkalemia or acute kidney injury related to ocedurenone was reported in the trial.

This acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.