Novo Nordisk licenses promising diabetes project from Xoma

Novo Nordisk has exclusively licensed global development and commercialisation rights to a new diabetes programme from Xoma.

The deal pertains to the XMetA programme of allosteric monoclonal antibodies that up-regulate the insulin receptor, the lead compound of which has the ability to mimic insulin's glucose regulatory functions without any of its mitogenic actions.

Weekly subcutaneous treatment with this molecule in animal test subjects resulted in robust decreases in hyperglycaemia without hypoglycaemia and weight gain, along with a significant absolute reduction in blood glucose levels.

Xoma retains commercialisation rights for rare disease indications, though Novo Nordisk has an option to add these additional rights in rare diseases to its licence.

Jim Neal, senior vice-president and chief operating officer of Xoma, said: "Novo Nordisk is recognised globally as the leader in the development of therapies to treat diabetes mellitus. It has the expertise to further develop these first-in-class insulin receptor activators."

The company's strong sales of diabetes therapies have been a key factor in driving its recent growth.