Novo Nordisk Licenses UBT-251 for Diabetes

Under the license agreement, Novo Nordisk will obtain exclusive worldwide rights (excluding Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) to develop, manufacture, and commercialize UBT251. United Biotechnology will retain the rights for UBT251 in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. United Biotechnology is eligible to receive an upfront payment of 200 million US dollars and potential milestone payments of up to 1.8 billion dollars from Novo Nordisk, as well as tiered royalties on net sales outside of Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

“Novo Nordisk is dedicated to providing improved treatment options for people living with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic diseases. The addition of a candidate targeting glucagon, as well as GLP-1 and GIP, will add important optionality to our clinical pipeline, as we look to develop a broad portfolio of differentiated treatment options that cater to the diverse needs of people living with these highly prevalent diseases,” said Martin Holst Lange, executive vice president for Development at Novo Nordisk. “We look forward to building on United Biotechnology’s scientific work and further exploring the potential best-in-class properties of UBT251 across cardiometabolic disease indications.”

United Biotechnology recently completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1b trial in China designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of multiple subcutaneous injections of UBT251 in people with overweight or obesity. A total of 36 patients were enrolled in three different dose groups (1mg, 1mg/3mg, 1mg/3mg/6mg). Each group adopted a dose titration method, with subcutaneous injection once a week for 12 consecutive weeks.