Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a collaboration agreement worth up to $2.1 billion with U.S.-based Vivtex to jointly develop next-generation oral medications for treating obesity and diabetes. Under the agreement, the privately-held company will license portions of its oral drug delivery technology, while Novo Nordisk will be responsible for global development and commercialization. The core value of this partnership lies in Vivtex's disruptive oral drug delivery research and development platform. This platform was developed with contributions from renowned MIT scientist and Moderna co-founder Robert Langer and his team. Its core technology integrates advanced gastrointestinal chip models, high-throughput automated robotic screening, and artificial intelligence predictive algorithms. Using this system, research teams can simulate drug absorption processes in the human intestine at unprecedented speeds, precisely identifying the optimal formulations that significantly enhance bioavailability from thousands of complex combinations. This approach aims to overcome the long-standing challenge of intestinal absorption barriers for peptide and protein-based drugs. Key details of the agreement include Novo Nordisk paying an undisclosed upfront fee, along with milestone payments and future royalties on product sales. The collaboration aims to enable the development of oral formulations for biological drugs that currently require injection by improving how they are absorbed in the intestines. The companies stated that Vivtex's platform utilizes intestinal screening assays, delivery technologies, and AI tools to help convert biologic drugs into tablet form. Novo Nordisk currently offers GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, including Wegovy, Ozempic, and the oral diabetes medication Rybelsus. In January of this year, the Danish drugmaker launched Wegovy tablets in the United States, marking the world's first oral medication specifically approved for obesity treatment.