September 16, 2026

Novo Nordisk + Anthropic Claude Deal, Zealand Metabolic Frontier 2030, Circle Pharma $92.5M Series E, Vera TRUTAKNA ORIGIN 3

Novo Nordisk-Anthropic Claude Science deal, Zealand Metabolic Frontier 2030, Circle Pharma $92.5M macrocyclic peptide Series E, Vera TRUTAKNA ORIGIN 3.

6 stories · Covering industry, clinical-trials

Editor's Note

Wednesday's Morgan Stanley Day 3 in New York put metabolic health at the center of the investor conversation. Novo Nordisk announced two separate items: a research collaboration with Anthropic to embed Claude Science across specific R&D workflows (the second Danish-pharma-plus-frontier-AI-lab tie-up after the earlier GSK-Anthropic exposure), and an EASD 2026 preview flagging Wegovy pill real-world OCTANE-study data plus next-generation amylin candidates for the September 28 through October 2 Milan meeting. Zealand Pharma used its own Morgan Stanley fireside to introduce a Metabolic Frontier 2030 plan targeting five commercial products by 2030 anchored on petrelintide (amylin analog, in Phase 3 with Roche under a 50/50 profit-share). Circle Pharma closed an oversubscribed $92.5 million Series E led by The Column Group with Nextech Invest, RA Capital, Euclidean, and Eli Lilly participating; proceeds advance CID-165, an oral macrocyclic peptide cyclin D1 RxL inhibitor, into early clinical development for ER-positive breast cancer. Vera Therapeutics disclosed final Phase 3 ORIGIN 3 results for TRUTAKNA (atacicept-vymj, a first-in-class BAFF and APRIL inhibitor) in adults with primary IgA nephropathy: 76% reduction in the composite kidney-disease progression endpoint over 104 weeks in 428 patients, no dialysis/transplant/death events versus 8 on placebo, with a supplemental BLA for full approval planned Q4 2026. And Diasome Pharmaceuticals appointed a CMO as it prepares HDV-Insulin (hepatocyte-directed lispro insulin) for Phase 3 in type 1 diabetes following Phase 2b OPTI-2 data that showed 25% Level 2 hypoglycemia reduction and no severe hypoglycemia events over six months of mealtime dosing.

Industry

Novo Nordisk and Anthropic Announce Collaboration to Deploy Claude Science Inside R&D Workflows; Denmark's Largest Pharma Tests Frontier-Lab AI for Medicine Discovery and Development

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO; Copenhagen: NOVO-B) and Anthropic announced Wednesday September 16, 2026 a collaboration to accelerate medicine development and strengthen the Danish pharma company's AI-driven software capabilities. Novo Nordisk will start by testing Claude Science, Anthropic's specialized research-workflow model line, inside specific research-and-development workflows including biology-focused literature synthesis, hypothesis generation, and internal knowledge management. Terms and financial structure of the collaboration were not disclosed. The deal makes Novo Nordisk one of the first large pharma companies to publicly commit to Claude Science deployment inside internal research workflows, following comparable Anthropic-plus-pharma tie-ups at other companies over the past twelve months. The Novo-Anthropic deal lands as Novo faces heightened investor pressure to demonstrate non-GLP-1 growth options and R&D productivity ahead of the September 21 Capital Markets Day in London — Morgan Stanley cut Novo Nordisk to Underweight on Friday September 11 citing the semaglutide patent-cliff exposure (approximately 75% of 2026 sales) and mid-term growth concerns. AI-drug-discovery tie-ups by themselves rarely move analyst models but can shift the pipeline-narrative arc.

#novo-nordisk #nvo #anthropic #claude-science #ai-drug-discovery #rd-workflow-integration #non-glp-1-diversification #capital-markets-day-london-preview #morgan-stanley-underweight-context #semaglutide-patent-cliff #glp-1

Industry

Novo Nordisk Previews EASD 2026 Data Package: Wegovy Pill Real-World OCTANE Study, Cardiometabolic Outcomes, and Next-Generation Amylin Candidates for the September 28-October 2 Milan Meeting

Novo Nordisk announced Wednesday September 16, 2026 the outline of its data presentations for the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2026 in Milan, Italy, September 28 through October 2. Real-world evidence from the OCTANE study will report Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide 25/50 mg) outcomes in adults with overweight or obesity including weight change, treatment switching patterns, and patient-reported outcomes across a large post-launch cohort. Additional EASD abstracts span obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and liver-related outcomes. Next-generation amylin candidate presentations include amycretin (long-acting unimolecular GLP-1/amylin dual agonist Phase 2 monotherapy and combination data) and CagriSema (cagrilintide plus semaglutide) follow-through from the earlier Redefine-1 head-to-head miss versus tirzepatide (23% vs 25.5% weight loss at 68 weeks). The EASD cluster also includes AstraZeneca AZD6234 APRICUS amylin data, Zealand-Roche petrelintide ZUPREME-2, and Roche Pharma Day September 28. Novo's Capital Markets Day in London September 21 will precede the EASD meeting by one week.

#novo-nordisk #nvo #easd-2026 #milan-meeting #wegovy-pill #oral-semaglutide-25-50-mg #octane-real-world-study #amycretin-glp-1-amylin #cagrisema-follow-through #redefine-1-context #azd6234-comparator #petrelintide-comparator #roche-pharma-day-september-28 #capital-markets-day-preview #glp-1

Industry

Zealand Pharma Introduces Metabolic Frontier 2030 Plan at Morgan Stanley Conference: Five Commercial Products by 2030 Anchored on Petrelintide Roche Partnership

Zealand Pharma (NASDAQ: ZLDPY; Copenhagen: ZEAL) CEO Adam Steensberg presented Wednesday September 16, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. EDT at the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference in New York, introducing the company's Metabolic Frontier 2030 strategic plan targeting five commercial products by 2030. The plan anchors on petrelintide (long-acting subcutaneous amylin analog Phase 3 with Roche under an April 2026 exclusive collaboration and licensing agreement; deal terms up to $5.3 billion including $1.65 billion upfront, plus 50/50 profit share on both monotherapy and combination products including petrelintide plus Roche's enicepatide GLP-1/GIP dual agonist). Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 documented up to 10.7% mean weight loss at 42 weeks versus 1.7% placebo, with no vomiting cases and no GI-related discontinuations at the maximally effective dose. Steensberg indicated the next phase of obesity competition may center on tolerability and patient retention rather than only on weight-loss magnitude — a positioning that differentiates petrelintide from the higher-efficacy but higher-GI-burden retatrutide (28% weight loss) and CagriSema. Zealand is building integrated commercial capabilities for petrelintide while relying on partners for other assets in rare disease and inflammation.

#zealand-pharma #zldpy #zeal-copenhagen #adam-steensberg-ceo #metabolic-frontier-2030 #five-products-by-2030 #petrelintide #amylin-analog #roche-partnership #50-50-profit-share #5-3-billion-deal-value #zupreme-1-10-7-percent #enicepatide-combination #retatrutide-context #morgan-stanley-2026-conference #tolerability-differentiation #peptide

Industry

Circle Pharma Closes $92.5 Million Series E to Advance Oral Macrocyclic Peptide Cyclin D1 RxL Inhibitor CID-165 into Early Clinical Development for ER-Positive Breast Cancer

Circle Pharma announced Wednesday September 16, 2026 an oversubscribed $92.5 million Series E financing led by The Column Group with participation from Nextech Invest, RA Capital Management, Euclidean Capital, and Eli Lilly and Company. Founded in 2012, the South San Francisco biotech develops orally bioavailable macrocyclic peptides against cancer-driving intracellular protein-protein interactions historically considered undruggable by conventional small molecules. Lead asset CID-165 is an oral macrocyclic peptide cyclin D1 RxL inhibitor designed to block the interaction between cyclin D1 and its downstream substrates in ER-positive breast cancer. Proceeds advance CID-165 into early clinical development plus expansion of the broader Circle discovery pipeline. Lilly's investor participation adds to a growing Lilly obesity-and-oncology-adjacent equity portfolio that already includes Moonwalk Biosciences (adipose RNAi, $70M Series B September 8), Superluminal Medicines (MC4R agonist, $60M Series B September 3), and Verve Therapeutics (base editing, acquired July 2025). The macrocyclic peptide category has attracted substantial VC and pharma investment throughout 2026, with Syneron Bio, Parabilis Medicines (formerly FogPharma), Bicycle Therapeutics, Unnatural Products, and Circle Pharma all closing major funding rounds or strategic collaborations.

#circle-pharma #92-5-million-series-e #the-column-group #nextech-invest #ra-capital-management #eli-lilly-investor #cid-165 #oral-macrocyclic-peptide #cyclin-d1-rxl-inhibitor #er-positive-breast-cancer #moonwalk-comparator #superluminal-comparator #parabilis-context #syneron-context #bicycle-therapeutics-context #peptide

Clinical Trials

Vera Therapeutics TRUTAKNA (Atacicept-Vymj) Meets All Prespecified Endpoints in Phase 3 ORIGIN 3 Final Efficacy Analysis in IgA Nephropathy: 76% Reduction in Composite Kidney Progression Over 104 Weeks in 428 Patients

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VERA) announced Tuesday September 15, 2026 that TRUTAKNA (atacicept-vymj, self-administered BAFF and APRIL dual inhibitor) met all prespecified endpoints in the Phase 3 ORIGIN 3 final efficacy analysis in adults with primary IgA nephropathy at risk for disease progression. The trial enrolled 428 patients. Two-year (104-week) results: TRUTAKNA stabilized kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate) over 52 weeks versus marked decline on placebo, and produced a 76% reduction in composite kidney disease progression events over 104 weeks. Zero patients on TRUTAKNA had dialysis, transplant, or death events versus 8 events in the placebo arm. eGFR outcomes aligned with KDIGO goals to slow kidney function decline to physiologic rates, supported by statistically significant improvements in proteinuria, galactose-deficient IgA1, and hematuria. Safety was comparable to placebo. TRUTAKNA already carries FDA accelerated approval to reduce proteinuria in IgAN at risk for progression; Vera plans a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) submission for full approval in Q4 2026. Early launch metrics: more than 350 patient start forms in the first 10 weeks. TRUTAKNA competes in a rapidly evolving IgAN market alongside Novartis's Fabhalta (iptacopan) and Otsuka's Filspari (sparsentan).

#vera-therapeutics #vera #trutakna #atacicept-vymj #baff-april-dual-inhibitor #iga-nephropathy #origin-3-phase-3-final #428-patients #76-percent-progression-reduction #104-weeks #zero-dialysis-transplant-death #sbla-full-approval-q4-2026 #fabhalta-iptacopan-context #filspari-sparsentan-context #non-peptide

Industry

Diasome Pharmaceuticals Prepares HDV-Insulin Lispro Phase 3 Program in Type 1 Diabetes; New CMO Sangeeta Sawhney MD Following Phase 2b OPTI-2 25% Level 2 Hypoglycemia Reduction

Diasome Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday September 15, 2026 the appointment of Sangeeta Sawhney MD as Chief Medical Officer to lead clinical development as the company advances HDV-Insulin (hepatocyte-directed vesicle-formulated insulin lispro) toward Phase 3 in type 1 diabetes. HDV-Insulin uses a proprietary phospholipid matrix that binds short-acting insulin (lispro) and preferentially directs it to the liver rather than the systemic circulation, more closely approximating the liver-first insulin delivery pattern in people without diabetes. The Phase 2b OPTI-2 trial (topline reported June 2026) documented HbA1c non-inferiority to standard lispro mealtime dosing plus a 25% reduction in Level 2 hypoglycemia (serious low blood sugar) and no severe hypoglycemia events over six months of mealtime dosing. The Phase 3 program is designed to prospectively confirm the hypoglycemia-reduction benefit alongside glycemic control non-inferiority in adults with type 1 diabetes on multiple daily injections or pump therapy. Insulin is a peptide hormone; HDV-Insulin is one of several liver-targeted insulin approaches in development to address the fundamental peripheral-versus-hepatic delivery mismatch that has driven hypoglycemia risk since injectable insulin's 1922 introduction. Trial design detail plus regulatory-pathway alignment with FDA are expected first half of 2027.

#diasome-pharmaceuticals #hdv-insulin-lispro #hepatocyte-directed-vesicle #liver-targeted-insulin #sangeeta-sawhney-cmo #type-1-diabetes #opti-2-phase-2b #25-percent-level-2-hypoglycemia-reduction #no-severe-hypoglycemia-6-months #phase-3-prep #insulin-peptide-hormone #peptide-delivery