Emisphere, Novo Nordisk partner to develop and commercialize oral formulations of insulins

Dec 21 2010

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:EMIS) and Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) today announced that they have entered into an exclusive Development and License Agreement to develop and commercialize oral formulations of Novo Nordisk's insulins, which have the potential of treating diabetes, using Emisphere's Eligen^® Technology. This is the second license agreement between the two companies. The first agreement, for the development of oral formulations of GLP-1 receptor agonists, was signed in June 2008, with a potential drug currently in a Phase I clinical trial.

The Insulin agreement includes $57.5 million in potential product development and sales milestone payments to Emisphere, of which $5 million will be payable upon signing, as well as royalties on sales. Further financial details of the agreement were not made public.

"This is an encouraging agreement on a promising technology for oral administration of proteins. We are delighted to continue working with Emisphere and their Eligen^® Technology. It fits very well with Novo Nordisk's strategy within diabetes research," said Peter Kurtzhals, Senior Vice President, Diabetes Research Unit at Novo Nordisk.

"This extended partnership with Novo Nordisk is important for Emisphere for several reasons," said Michael V. Novinski, President and Chief Executive Officer of Emisphere. "To date, our collaboration with Novo Nordisk has been productive, and today's agreement has the potential to offer significant new solutions to millions of people with diabetes worldwide. Finally, it also serves to further validate our Eligen^® Technology."

Emisphere's broad-based drug delivery technology platform, known as the Eligen^® Technology, uses proprietary, synthetic chemical compounds, known as Emisphere delivery agents, sometimes called carriers. Emisphere's Eligen^® Technology makes it possible to deliver a therapeutic molecule without altering its chemical form or biological integrity.