Novo Signs $2 Billion Deal With United Labs for Obesity Drug

Novo Nordisk flags.Photographer: Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP/Getty Images
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Novo Nordisk A/S agreed to pay United Laboratories International Holdings as much as $2 billion for a next-generation obesity drug, the Danish Ozempic maker’s latest move to refill its pipeline of experimental treatments.

Novo will pay Hong Kong-based United Laboratories $200 million upfront for the drug, which combines three different mechanisms in an effort to treat obesity as well as diabetes and other diseases, the companies said Monday. Novo agreed to pay as much as $1.8 billion if the drug reaches certain development and sales goals.