Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: LXRX) said March 28 it will exclusively license its drug candidate LX9581 to Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO). Under the terms of the agreement, Lexicon will receive up to $1 billion in up-front and potential development-, regulatory- and sales-milestone payments.

Novo Nordisk has signed a deal worth up to $1bn with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for the exclusive global rights to LX9851, an experimental oral treatment for obesity and related metabolic disorders. Under the agreement,

Novo Nordisk said Monday that it had entered into a license agreement with a Chinese company developing a competitor to Novo’s Ozempic. The Danish pharma giant said it would pay $200 million upfront and up to $1.