Novo Nordisk to Buy Inversago Pharma for Up to $1.1 Billion

Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk A/S agreed to buy Inversago Pharma, a maker of experimental obesity and diabetes treatments, for as much as $1.08 billion.

(Bloomberg) — Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk A/S agreed to buy Inversago Pharma, a maker of experimental obesity and diabetes treatments, for as much as $1.08 billion.

The price depends on reaching development and sales goals, the companies said Thursday, the same day Novo Nordisk reported second-quarter results. Inversago is a closely owned company based in Montreal.

Inversago’s most developed medicine is INV-202, a drug taken orally that blocks a protein that plays a role in metabolism and regulating the appetite. It has shown weight-loss potential in a first phase trial and is in second-phase testing for diabetic kidney disease. The company employs 22 people.

Novo is pushing for collaborations to bring new technologies into its pipeline, even as it grapples with overwhelming demand for the hit weight-loss medicine Wegovy. Novo said in May it would work with ElevateBio LLC on gene-editing therapies for rare diseases as well as disorders linked to obesity.

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