Deep Apple Therapeutics has entered a research collaboration and exclusive global licensing agreement worth up to $812m with Novo Nordisk to advance oral small molecule therapeutics targeting a novel non-incretin GPCR for cardiometabolic diseases, including obesity.
The partnership will leverage Deep Apple’s proprietary drug discovery platform, which integrates machine-learning-driven virtual screening with structural biology facilitated by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM).
Novo Nordisk will obtain exclusive worldwide rights to develop, produce, and market the resulting compounds across all indications.
The collaboration involves both companies working jointly on the research plan, with a transition of the program to Novo Nordisk occurring just before the commencement of IND-enabling studies.
Deep Apple is eligible to receive an upfront payment, research funding, and milestone payments, potentially amounting to $812m, along with possible royalties from future product sales.
Deep Apple CEO and Apple Tree Partners venture partner Spiros Liras said: “Novo Nordisk is a long-established global leader in delivering transformative treatments for cardiometabolic diseases, and the Deep Apple team is energised by the opportunity to collaborate with them.
“This program highlights our platform capabilities in identifying potent, novel leads within months, and the partnership with Novo Nordisk will enable us to advance a first-in-class non-incretin program for cardiometabolic diseases.”
Novo Nordisk diabetes, obesity and MASH therapeutic area senior vice president Jacob Sten Petersen said: “Novo Nordisk is developing a range of potential oral medicines for cardiometabolic diseases across modalities and targets, as we know that people living with these diseases have different needs and preferences.
“We look forward to exploring this novel target further based on Deep Apple’s AI-powered platform and expertise in small molecule drug discovery.”
The targeted receptor, a non-incretin G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), aligns well with Deep Apple’s platform capabilities. This technology captures GPCR dynamics and movements in various conformations, unveiling unique pockets that can be targeted using Deep Apple’s proprietary virtual libraries.
