Refreshed Novo corrals 3 new early

New-look Novo is digging deeper into its metabolic roots with three new obesity programs purchased from New York biotech Kallyope. The three new programs are not incretins, the class of gut hormones that includes GLP-1s like Novo’s semaglutide. Instead, one is a “potential first-in-class peptide,” another is a “follow-on small molecule” for a novel target and the third is a “small molecule receptor agonist,” Jacob Petersen, Novo’s head of global research, wrote in a LinkedIn post today. “The lead peptide-based candidate, K-554, is IND-ready,” Petersen wrote. Kallyope shared some details on K-554 in January when outlining the company’s strategic priorities for the year. At the time, the biotech said the drug candidate is a “novel, once weekly, non-incretin approach to regulating food intake” that leverages a different realm of biology than GLP-1s. Kallyope said it was working to start phase 1 testing of K-554, with data expected in the second half of 2026. The drug is not currently listed on Kallyope’s pipeline, and no clinical trials of the asset being run by the company are listed on the federal trial database. “As we work to address the diverse needs of people living with obesity, we continue to build a broad and deep pipeline spanning a variety of treatment approaches, with multiple candidates entering clinical development this year,” Petersen wrote. “This agreement builds on Novo’s long tradition of pursuing new possibilities to improve health.” Though Novo and Kallyope have teamed up in the past, this deal is new, a Novo spokesperson confirmed to Fierce. The company is not sharing further details on financial terms or drug targets for the time being. “By acquiring these programs, we add promising externally grown science to our obesity pipeline and build on our ambition to look beyond our own walls to identify opportunities that can strengthen and differentiate our pipeline,” Tamara Darrow, Ph.D., Novo’s head of global business development, said in her own LinkedIn post. The deal comes just a day after Novo announced a $1.4 billion biobucks pact with Orbis Medicines to develop macrocycle drugs aimed at “high-value” cardiometabolic targets. The three obesity newcomers arrive at Novo during a time of renewal, with the Danish drug giant recently announcing a brand refresh that dropped the “Nordisk” from the company’s everyday moniker. Novo has been racing to keep up with Lilly in the obesity field, and CEO Mike Doustdar recently told Fierce that obesity and diabetes remain “very core to what we do.” Novo’s pipeline recently took a blockbuster-sized hit when the pharma gave up on two more phase 3 trials of ziltivekimab, an interleukin-6 ligand that was being tested for heart failure. That followed the drug’s earlier phase 3 failure in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and inflammation. Analysts had previously projected peak sales of around $3 billion for ziltivekimab, heralding the drug as a chance for Novo to expand its cardiovascular presence beyond obesity and diabetes.