According to the Zhito Finance APP, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo-Nordisk A/S (NVO.US) and AI biotechnology company Valo Health announced on Wednesday the expansion of their collaboration aimed at accelerating the development of new therapies for cardiometabolic diseases. Under the latest agreement, both parties will jointly advance 20 new drug projects covering cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, with Valo expected to receive approximately $4.6 billion in milestone payments, additional research and development funding, and royalties.

The initial cooperation agreement reached in 2023 focused on the field of cardiovascular diseases, where Novo-Nordisk A/S and Valo agreed to jointly advance up to 11 drug projects. At that time, Valo had the right to receive up to $2.7 billion in milestone payments. This revised agreement significantly expands the scope of cooperation, adding 9 new projects focusing on treatments for obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

As part of the agreement, Valo will also receive $0.19 billion in comprehensive funding from Novo-Nordisk A/S, which includes advance payments, Private Equity, and potential near-term milestone payments.

Marcus Schindler, the scientific director of Novo-Nordisk A/S, expressed high satisfaction with the progress made in the first year of the collaboration and emphasized the expectation to expand the scope of cooperation and focus on more disease areas.