Novo Nordisk to Acquire Emisphere Technologies for $1.35 Billion to Advance Oral Biologics Pipeline

Emisphere Technologies Announces $1.35 Billion Acquisition by Novo NordiskRecently, Emisphere Technologies announced that it has reached an agreement with Novo Nordisk, under which Novo Nordisk will acquire Emisphere for $1.35 billion. Since 2007, Novo Nordisk and Emisphere have collaborated on Emisphere’s proprietary drug delivery technology platform, Eligen, which enhances the oral absorption of molecules. Novo Nordisk has already utilized Emisphere’s delivery technology to develop the oral formulation of semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for marketing under the brand name Rybelsus.

Eligen is a proprietary drug delivery technology platform developed by Emisphere. It comprises absorption-enhancing excipients capable of combining with therapeutic agents. These excipient molecules facilitate the absorption of therapeutic small or large molecules without altering their chemical structure, biological integrity, or pharmacological properties. Notably, this technology enables therapeutic biologics, including peptides and proteins, to cross the gastrointestinal biological membranes.

Image source: Emisphere Technologies, Inc. official website

“The acquisition of Emisphere gives Novo Nordisk full ownership of the Eligen technology, which has been successfully used to develop Rybelsus, the first oral biologic,” said Dr. Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at Novo Nordisk. “We plan to further apply and develop this technology for use in both current and future therapies in our pipeline, enabling patients to take more biologic medicines orally.”

References:

[1] Novo Nordisk to Acquire Emisphere Technologies for $1.35 Billion. Retrieved November 6, 2020, from http://ir.emisphere.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novo-nordisk-acquire-emisphere-technologies-135-billion

[2] Emisphere Technologies. Retrieved November 6, 2020, from https://emisphere.com/.

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