Novo Nordisk has terminated its major global partnership with Tokyo-based biotech Heartseed, ending a four-year collaboration focused on developing an allogeneic cell therapy for advanced heart failure patients. The decision, announced by Heartseed and confirmed by Novo Nordisk, stems from a recent company-wide strategic realignment under new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar, who has shifted Novo’s priorities towards core business areas such as diabetes and obesity therapies.
The collaboration, launched in 2021, aimed to advance Heartseed’s lead asset HS-001—an investigational therapy comprising clusters of purified heart muscle cells derived from stem cells, delivered during open-heart surgery. Under the original agreement, Heartseed was eligible for up to $598 million in milestone payments, with Novo holding development and commercialization rights outside Japan and both partners sharing profits in the Japanese market.
Novo’s abrupt exit, attributed to “strategic reviews and shifts” in its global business, leaves Heartseed to rethink its overseas strategy while retaining all intellectual property formerly licensed to Novo. Although the operational progress of the therapy had been smooth according to Heartseed, the biotech must now search for new global partners as it continues clinical development in Japan using its existing funds.
The termination arrives amid broader upheaval, with Novo Nordisk announcing a reorganization expected to cut up to 9,000 jobs worldwide to realign resources toward areas deemed high impact in research and commercial activities. Despite losing non-Japanese milestone revenues and international development support, Heartseed affirmed that ongoing clinical trials and domestic operations remain unchanged. Novo Nordisk is expected to share more details about its repositioning in its upcoming third-quarter earnings release.
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