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Novo (NVO) & Aspect Biosystems Unite to Develop Tissue Therapy

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Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO - Free Report) and a privately-held biotechnology company, Aspect Biosystems, announced entering a collaboration, development, and license agreement. This will bring together Aspect’s proprietary bioprinting technology and Novo Nordisk’s expertise and technology in stem-cell differentiation and cell-therapy development and manufacturing.

The companies will jointly develop implantable bioprinted tissues to replace, repair, or supplement biological functions to deliver a new class of truly disease-modifying treatments for diabetes and obesity. These tissues will reportedly be designed to be allogeneic, meaning the cells used are derived from a single source to increase the viability of future large-scale manufacturing.

In the past year, shares of Novo Nordisk have shot up 38.3% compared with the industry’s 5% rise.

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Per the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk is set to receive an exclusive global license to use Aspect’s bioprinting technology to develop up to four products for the treatment of diabetes and/or obesity. On the other hand, Aspect is entitled to receive an upfront payment, along with research funding and investment in the form of a convertible note, totaling $75 million.

Additionally, Aspect is also eligible to receive up to $650 million in future development, regulatory, commercial and sales milestone payments per product and tiered royalties on future product sales.

The collaboration will initially focus on developing bioprinted tissue therapeutics designed to maintain normal blood glucose levels without the need for immunosuppression. The companies expect this approach to amount to a transformative treatment for people living with type I diabetes.

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Novo Nordisk currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

A few other stocks from the overall healthcare sector worth mentioning are Innoviva (INVA - Free Report) , Avita Medical (RCEL - Free Report) and EQRx , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.   

In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Innoviva’s 2023 earnings per share has increased from $1.04 to $1.37. In the past year, shares of Innoviva dropped 38.5%.

INVA beat estimates in one of the four trailing quarters, missing thrice, delivering an average negative earnings surprise of 50.78%.

In the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 has narrowed from a loss of $1.26 per share to 99 cents for Avita Medical. In the past year, shares of Avita Medical have shot up 109.4%.

RCEL beat estimates in three of the last four reported quarters, missing once, delivering an average earnings surprise of 22.16%.

In the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 has narrowed from a loss of 66 cents per share to 58 cents for EQRx. In the past year, shares of EQRx have plunged 58.8%.

EQRX beat estimates in all the previous four reported quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 34.99%.


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