Novo Nordisk expands diabetes cell therapy partnership with Aspect Biosystems

Jan 20 (Reuters) – Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and Canada-based privately held Aspect Biosystems said on Tuesday they have struck a partnership to develop cell-based treatments for diabetes.

Aspect will lead development and manufacturing and will commercialize the therapies, while Novo Nordisk will retain certain options and rights to expand its role later, the companies said.

Under the deal, Aspect has acquired rights to certain Novo Nordisk technologies focused on producing insulin-making “islet” cells from stem cells and on engineering cells designed to be less likely to be attacked by the immune system.

The companies did not disclose financial terms.

Novo Nordisk will make an additional equity investment in Aspect and provide research funding to advance the therapies.

The Danish company will also be eligible to receive royalties and milestone payments on future product sales from Aspect, the companies said.

The two companies have collaborated since 2023 to develop cell-based therapies.

The deal includes moving some research, development and manufacturing capabilities and expertise from the United States and Denmark into Aspect’s Canada-based platform, expanding Aspect’s internal capacity.

Aspect Biosystems uses 3D bioprinting to place living cells into tiny, precise patterns to build tissue-like structures, aiming to make implantable cell therapies such as insulin-producing islet cell replacements.

Research has shown that insulin-producing human pancreas cells can be manufactured using 3D printers. The process involves a bio-ink made from human pancreatic tissue that has had its cellular components removed, along with alginate, a seaweed-derived substance, to help print human pancreatic islet cells.

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)