Novo Nordisk and Kymab announce antibody discovery agreement

Novo Nordisk has announced a new therapeutic antibody discovery agreement with Kymab, with the aim of creating new treatments for a number of conditions.

The deal sees Novo Nordisk receiving a non-exclusive licence to Kymab's proprietary Kymouse human antibody discovery platform for the development and commercialisation of therapeutic monoclonal antibody drugs for various human diseases.

In particular, this research will involve the use of the Kymouse HK and Kymouse HL transgenic human antibody mouse strains, which have been shown to generate highly selective and potent drug candidates.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but include platform licence fees, development milestone payments and potential future sales royalties.

Hanne Risager Romedahl, vice-president and head of immunotechnology at Novo Nordisk, said: "Kymab's highly innovative and technically advanced Kymouse platform is an excellent fit with our existing therapeutic antibody discovery capability."

Last month, the company announced that its growth hormone therapy Norditropin 15 mg has received European approval for a new room-temperature stable formulation, offering numerous benefits for patients and doctors alike.