Novo Nordisk transfers Parkinson's cell therapy to Zuckerberg-backed Cellular Intelligence

Novo Nordisk hands Parkinson's cell therapy to Zuckerberg-backed Cellular Intelligence

Novo will take an equity stake in Cellular Intelligence and is in line for future milestone payments and royalties. The startup plans to apply its AI platform to STEM-PD, a stem-cell-derived treatment Novo discontinued last October. Novo Nordisk has handed over STEM-PD, an experimental stem-cell therapy for Parkinson's disease, to Cellular Intelligence, an AI biotech backed by Mark Zuckerberg, the companies said on Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed. Novo will take an equity stake in the startup and is eligible for future milestone payments and royalties. Novo discontinued the therapy last October when it shut down its cell-therapy unit during a broader restructuring. STEM-PD is an allogeneic, stem-cell-derived treatment designed to replace dopamine-producing nerve cells lost in Parkinson's disease. It had been in early clinical development at Novo before the unit was wound down. Cellular Intelligence said it intends to use its proprietary AI platform to accelerate the programme, scale manufacturing and bring down production costs. Cellular Intelligence has raised more than $60m to date from investors including Khosla Ventures and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's philanthropic vehicle. The deal extends an investment pattern that has seen CZI commit substantial capital to AI-driven biology in recent months. For Novo, the deal closes out one of the loose ends from last October's restructuring, which prioritised the company's obesity and diabetes franchises after demand for Wegovy and Ozempic continued to outpace supply. The cell-therapy unit was an early-stage research operation rather than a commercial line; its discontinuation freed engineering and manufacturing capacity for GLP-1 production. Last week Novo reported that Wegovy held 65% of new US prescriptions and that obesity-care sales rose 22% on a constant-currency basis. For Cellular Intelligence, the deal gives the company a clinical-stage asset to anchor its AI-platform pitch. STEM-PD is well-characterised; Novo's prior investment took it through the preclinical and early-clinical stages. The startup's case to investors will now combine an in-development therapy with the cost-and-speed claims its AI platform is built around. There is no disclosed timeline for the next clinical milestone. Cellular Intelligence has not said when it expects to file an IND amendment or what dose-finding work it will pick up from Novo's earlier programme. Parkinson's affects around 10 million people worldwide. Treatments that replace lost dopamine-producing cells have been pursued by multiple research groups for decades; Cellular Intelligence's bet is that AI-assisted manufacturing and dose selection can make a treatment of this kind commercially viable on a timeline conventional cell-therapy programmes have not been able to match. The companies did not say whether Novo's equity stake gives it observer rights, IP back-licensing or any operational role at Cellular Intelligence. The deal closes immediately.

Mark Zuckerberg-Backed AI Startup Takes Over Parkinson’s Treatment From the Maker of Ozempic

Cellular Intelligence just acquired the rights to an experimental Parkinson’s cell therapy from Novo Nordisk. Cellular Intelligence, an AI drug startup backed by Mark Zuckerberg, said Monday that it has reached a “defining moment.†The Boston-based startup announced that it has acquired global rights to STEM-PD, an experimental Parkinson’s disease cell therapy program from Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker best known for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. The deal gives Cellular Intelligence control of a clinical-stage therapy designed to restore the dopamine-producing nerve cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease. The treatment uses stem cells from donors that are transformed into early-stage brain cells meant to become dopamine-producing neurons. It is currently being tested in a first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial and has received FDA Fast Track Designation. Cellular Intelligence now plans to use its AI platform to push the treatment through further clinical development, manufacturing, and, if successful, commercialization. The deal gives the startup a chance to prove whether its technology, and AI more broadly, can actually help accelerate the development of complicated treatments like STEM-PD. “We are building an AI-native, fully integrated therapeutics company. The same platform that learns how cells respond to signals can help design better protocols, improve manufacturability, optimize functional dose, and deepen our understanding of how development decisions connect to clinical outcomes,†said Cellular Intelligence CEO and Co-founder Micha Breakstone in a statement. “STEM-PD gives us the ideal proving ground for that vision.†Bloomberg reports that Cellular Intelligence plans to start a mid-stage trial of the therapy early next year. The company also plans to use data from the trials to improve its AI models. For its part, Novo Nordisk is making a strategic equity investment in the startup and remains eligible for future milestone payments and royalties if the treatment advances. The deal comes after Novo Nordisk decided last year to wind down its cell therapy research and development work as part of a broader restructuring, shifting its focus to diabetes and obesity treatments. During the early Ozempic boom, Novo Nordisk became the most valuable company in Europe. But it has since faced growing competition from rivals like Eli Lilly, as well as cheaper compounded and copycat versions of GLP-1 drugs sold online. “At the time, we announced that we would be seeking deals for some of our cell therapy programs to be advanced by partners,†a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “This agreement with Cellular Intelligence will support the continued development of the potential cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease pioneered by Novo Nordisk, and we believe that Cellular Intelligence has the capabilities needed to advance it further.â€

Mark Zuckerberg backed-Cellular Intelligence acquires Novo Nordisk's Parkinson's cell therapy - The Economic Times

Last October, Novo Nordisk had shut down its cell therapy unit as part of a broader restructuring, discontinuing development of ⁠the therapy.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg backed-Cellular Intelligence has acquired Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's cell therapy candidate for Parkinson's disease, the biotech firm said on Monday. Last October, Novo Nordisk had shut down its cell therapy unit as part of a broader restructuring, discontinuing development of ⁠the therapy. Here ⁠are some details: Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Novo will take an equity stake in Cellular and could receive future milestone payments and royalties, the biotech firm said. The treatment, named STEM-PD, an allogeneic, stem cell-derived therapy, designed to replace dopamine-producing nerve ⁠cells lost in Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is a progressive brain disorder, leading to symptoms such as tremors, ⁠stiffness and slow movement. Cellular said it intends to apply its proprietary AI platform to speed up the treatment's development, scale manufacturing and reduce costs. The data will be used to further train the AI model. "It marks the beginning of an AI-native era for cell replacement therapy, one where biology is no longer destiny, but design," said Cellular's CEO Micha Breakstone. The treatment is being tested in a early-to-mid ⁠stage trial and has received the fast-track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a status meant to expedite the review of therapies for serious conditions with unmet medical needs. Cellular Intelligence has raised more than $60 million from investors including Khosla Ventures and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organisation founded by Zuckerberg.

Cellular Intelligence strikes deal with Novo Nordisk to advance Parkinson's cell therapy

Michael J. Fox plays guitar with Coldplay at the Glastonbury Festival in 2024. Best-known for the 'Back to the Future' trilogy, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991. Cellular Intelligence has acquired global rights to Novo Nordisk's clinical‑stage cell therapy program for Parkinson's disease, a fast-growing neurodegenerative disease that affects close to 12 million people worldwide, the company announced today. As part of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will make an equity investment in Cellular Intelligence and will be eligible for future milestone payments and royalties. Financial terms were not disclosed. "Through this agreement, Cellular Intelligence aims to advance the continued clinical development of the cell therapy Parkinson's program and deliver a meaningful, disease-modifying therapy for people living with Parkinson's disease," the company said in a press release. Cellular Intelligence plans to apply its AI foundation model, which is trained on millions of cellular perturbation conditions, to accelerate the development and manufacturing of the therapy toward commercialization. The company says its platform can compress traditional cell‑therapy timelines and reduce production costs, a key barrier to commercializing complex regenerative‑medicine products. FDA Fast Track designation The deal gives Cellular Intelligence control of an allogeneic, pluripotent stem‑cell‑derived dopaminergic progenitor therapy already in a first-in-human Phase ½ clinical trial and designated by the FDA for Fast Track designation status as well as IND clearance for further clinical development. The therapy was developed by Novo Nordisk. "This cell therapy Parkinson's program is truly innovative and exemplifies the powerful convergence of exciting academic discovery with the uncompromising quality of a global pharmaceutical leader, and we are honored to carry the program into its next chapter," said Micha Breakstone, Ph.D, co-founder and CEO of Cellular Intelligence. He added that scaling advanced cell therapies for global use is "exactly the challenge our AI‑native platform was built to solve." To lead clinical advancement, Cellular Intelligence has appointed neurologist Nuno Mendonça, MD, as chief medical officer. Mendonça has previously held senior roles at Bial, AbbVie, and Novartis Gene Therapies, overseeing neuroscience and rare‑disease programs across North America and Europe. Novo Nordisk said it sought a partner capable of advancing the program's scientific and manufacturing complexity. "We are convinced that Cellular Intelligence has the capabilities needed to move it forward," said Jacob Petersen, the company's senior vice president of global research. "The convergence of developmental biology and genomics, and the possibility of combining this with AI on a single platform, provide an exciting opportunity in medicine in general, and for the cell therapy field in particular." In October, Danish publication Borsen reported that Novo Nordisk had decided to discontinue its cell therapy research and development efforts for diabetes, a stem cell therapy for heart disease, and another cell therapy candidate for Parkinson's disease in early-stage trials. The cuts came amid restructuring at the company aimed at cutting costs and refocusing research efforts.

Novo Nordisk to Sell Parkinson's Cell Therapy to Startup Cellular Intelligence

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk agreed to sell an experimental cell therapy for Parkinson's disease to Cellular Intelligence and take a stake in the U.S. startup, Cellular Intelligence said Monday. Novo Nordisk will make an equity investment in Cellular Intelligence in connection to the deal and be eligible for future payments subject to targets and royalties, Cellular Intelligence said, without disclosing the size of the investment. The Danish drugmaker last year said it would reallocate resources toward its growth priorities in diabetes and obesity as part of Chief Executive Mike Doustdar's plan to regain ground lost to rival Eli Lilly in the weight-loss market. Cellular Intelligence said it aims to deploy its artificial-intelligence platform to accelerate the development of the therapy, which is currently undergoing an early and midstage clinical trial, and its path to commercialization. "Optimizing and scaling complex cell therapy programs to reach patients globally is exactly the challenge our AI-native platform was built to solve," Cellular Intelligence co-Founder and Chief Executive Micha Breakstone said. Cellular Intelligence also said it is appointing Nuno Mendonca, a neurologist who previously worked at AbbVie and Novartis, as chief medical officer to lead the clinical development of the program. Write to Adria Calatayud at [email protected]