Novo Hands Over Parkinson’s Therapy to Zuckerberg-Backed Startup

Novo Nordisk A/S agreed to hand over an experimental therapy for Parkinson’s disease to a Mark Zuckerberg-backed AI startup to potentially speed its development.

The startup, Cellular Intelligence, is gaining rights to the early-stage treatment and will be in charge of shepherding it through clinical trials, it said Monday. Novo, the maker of the obesity blockbuster Wegovy, stands to receive milestone payments and royalties if the program succeeds. The Danish drugmaker agreed to buy a stake in the Boston-based startup as part of the deal. No financial details were disclosed.