Novo Nordisk partners with Valo Health on AI drug discovery

Danish pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, known for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, has entered into a partnership with Valo Health, a technology company specialising in AI-powered drug discovery. 

The collaboration will focus on new cardiometabolic drug programs, and Novo Nordisk has also licensed three preclinical cardiovascular drug discovery programs from Valo. Under the terms of the agreement, Valo will receive upfront and near-term payments of up to $60 million, as well as milestone payments potentially reaching $2.7 billion. Additionally, research and development funding and potential royalty payments are included in the partnership. 

Novo Nordisk's chief scientific officer, Marcus Schindler, emphasised the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning to impact drug discovery positively, particularly in leveraging human datasets for a better understanding of target biology. 

The company’s American depositary receipts fell slightly in premarket trading, but the company has seen a 35% gain in its stock value year-to-date, outperforming the S&P 500's 12.5% increase.