Variant Bio has entered a multi-year research partnership with Novo Nordisk, focusing on the identification of new targets to treat metabolic conditions.
Leveraging Variant’s ‘VB-Inference analysis’ platform, which integrates whole genomes with multi-omic data to map disease mechanisms, the collaboration aims to identify targets with ‘strong’ genetic evidence for the development of human-centric drug discovery programmes.
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As part of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will provide Variant Bio with an upfront payment and additional near-term research and development (R&D) funding that could reach up to $50m.
There are also provisions for potential options and milestone payments for targets that emerge from this partnership.
Novo Nordisk Global Drug Discovery corporate vice-president Bei Zhang said: “Through our partnership with Variant Bio, we aspire to gain a more complete understanding of the genetic causes of metabolic disease.
“Having conducted over two dozen genomic research projects with diverse populations around the world, Variant Bio is well positioned to carry out genomic research on metabolic disease in places that have not yet been fully studied.”
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By GlobalDataVB-Inference claims to combine statistical genetics and machine learning to integrate whole genomes with deep phenotyping and extensive transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data, offering a ‘better informed’ approach to drug discovery.
Variant’s platform has already facilitated the initiation of several new R&D programmes within the company’s pipeline.
Variant Bio chief scientific officer David Moller said: “Metabolic disease – including obesity – affects people all over the world, yet newer targets with genetic evidence are primarily based on studies with European-ancestry populations. As a result, there is still an unmet need in this space.”
The company launched a benefit-sharing programme in 2020, committing to providing ‘tangible benefits’ to the global communities with which it collaborates.
This collaboration is set to ‘trigger’ financial benefits for the global communities that have contributed their genetic data to Variant.
In April 2024, Evotec entered a partnership agreement with Variant to explore treatments for conditions related to fibrosis.
