Novo Nordisk licenses GKA programme to TransTech

Novo Nordisk has announced that it has granted an exclusive licence to TransTech Pharma to its clinical glucokinase activator (GKA) programme. Previous pre-clinical trials have suggested that GKAs may be able to help glucose control in patients with diabetes.

According to the agreement, Novo Nordisk will grant TransTech the global rights to all pre-clinical and clinical compounds associated with the programme.

This announcement follows a decision last month by Novo Nordisk to out-license its small-molecule projects and focus its own research and development efforts on protein based pharmaceuticals.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, executive vice president and chief science officer of Novo Nordisk, said: “We are very pleased that it has been possible to reach an agreement with TransTech in such a short time.”

He added that the two companies had collaborated on its GKA programme since the outset, with TransTech having the ability to further develop the programme while Novo Nordisk will hold a financial share in it.

Last month, Novo Nordisk announced that former president Bill Clinton would be the central speaker at the Global Changing Diabetes Leadership Forum hosted by the company on March 13th 2007.

The forum will involve politicians, patient organisations, healthcare professionals and others in an attempt to redefine healthcare to focus on the needs of patients with diabetes.