Pharmaceutical Market Europe • March 2026 • 6
NEWS
Novo Nordisk and Vivtex partner in
deal worth
up to $2.1bn
Novo Nordisk and Vivtex Corporation have partnered to develop next-generation oral biologic medicines for obesity, diabetes and associated comorbidities.
Under the agreement, Vivtex will license select oral drug-delivery technologies to Novo Nordisk, while Vivtex is eligible to receive upfront consideration, research funding and milestone payments totalling up to $2.1bn and tiered royalties on future product sales.
The collaboration aims to create oral biologic drug candidates that currently need to be given by injection due to poor absorption in the gastrointestinal tract.
The partnership combines Novo Nordisk’s deep expertise in peptide and protein therapeutics with Vivtex’s proprietary gastrointestinal screening and formulation platform to identify next-generation oral therapeutics.
Vivtex’s platform combines multiple proprietary gastrointestinal screening assays, drug-delivery technologies, and computational simulation and AI capabilities to optimise the oral delivery of biologic medicines. The platform is designed to achieve high oral bioavailability and consistent in-human performance.
Following research and formulation selection, Novo Nordisk will assume responsibility for global development, regulatory activities, manufacturing and commercialisation of any resulting products.
Gilead to acquire Arcellx in deal worth $7.8bn
Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire Arcellx for an implied equity value of $7.8bn. Arcellx is a biotechnology company working to develop a new class of innovative immunotherapies for patients with cancer and other incurable diseases.
Kite, a Gilead company, and Arcellx are working together to co-develop and co-commercialise Arcellx’s lead pipeline candidate, anitocabtagene autoleucel (anito-cel).
Anito-cel is an investigational BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy for patients with multiple myeloma. In clinical studies to date, it has demonstrated positive responses with a manageable safety profile.
Despite advancements in treatment, many patients with multiple myeloma eventually relapse and require additional treatment. As disease progresses, patients often experience diminishing responses, increasing toxicity and fewer viable options, especially those who are heavily pretreated or unable to tolerate existing therapies.
The Biologics License Application (BLA) has been accepted by the US FDA, with its review expected by 23 December 2026.
The BLA is for the use of anito-cel as a fourth-line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. It is supported by results from the phase 1 study and the pivotal phase 2 iMMagine1 study.
GSK to acquire Canadian biopharma 35Pharma for $950m
In a deal worth $950m, GSK has agreed to acquire 35Pharma, a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Canada that specialises in the development of novel protein-based therapeutics.
The acquisition includes HS235, a potential best-in-class investigational medicine for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension due to heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF).
HS235 has completed phase 1 healthy volunteer clinical trials, with studies due to start for PAH and PH-HFpEF.
Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer at GSK, said: “Pulmonary hypertension affects millions of people worldwide, yet patients are underserved.”
PH is a progressive, life-shortening disease marked by high blood pressure in the lungs. Early symptoms are breathlessness, fatigue and chest pain leading to heart failure as the disease progresses.
It affects approximately 82 million people worldwide across multiple disease forms, yet treatment options remain limited and the five year survival rate is only around 50%.
Ilia Tikhomirov, CEO at 35Pharma, said: “In recent years, we witnessed a revolution in our understanding of pulmonary hypertension and how this life-threatening disease could be reversed. HS235 [has the] potential to transform the treatment of this debilitating condition.”