A roundup of news from Novo Nordisk/Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and Bharat Biotech. Highlights below.

Mfg News
* Bharat Biotech Investing in New Cell- & Gene-Therapy Mfg Facility
Partnering News
* Novo Nordisk, Lexicon in $1-Bn Deal for Obesity, Metabolic Disease Drug

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Mfg News

Bharat Biotech Investing in New Cell- & Gene-Therapy Mfg Facility
Bharat Biotech, a Hyderabad, India-based bio/pharmaceutical company, has announced a new 50,000-square-foot cell & gene therapy & viral vector production facility at Genome Valley.

Source: Bharat Biotech

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Partnering News

Novo Nordisk, Lexicon in $1-Bn Deal for Obesity, Metabolic Disease Drug
Novo Nordisk and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, a The Woodlands, Texas-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered an exclusive license agreement for Lexicon’s LX9851, a development candidate in obesity and associated metabolic disorders, in a deal worth up to $1 billion ($75 million upfront, $1 billion in milestone payments).

Under the agreement, Novo Nordisk obtains an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize LX9851 in all indications. Lexicon will be responsible for completing agreed-upon investigational new drug (IND) application-enabling activities for LX9851. Novo Nordisk will be responsible for filing the IND, all further development, manufacturing and commercialization of LX9851.

LX9851, discovered and developed by Lexicon, is a potent and selective oral small-molecule inhibitor of Acyl-CoA Synthetase 5 (ACSL5) . ACSL5 plays a key role in the metabolic pathway which regulates fat accumulation and energy balance.

Lexicon is eligible to receive upfront and near-term milestone payments of up to $75 million. In total, Lexicon will be eligible to receive $1 billion in upfront and potential development, regulatory and sales milestone payments. Lexicon is also entitled to tiered royalties on net sales of LX9851.

Source: Lexicon Pharmaceuticals