Novo Nordisk licenses weekly oral obesity peptide from Hengrui in up to $2.6 billion deal

Novo Nordisk has signed a licensing agreement with China's Hengrui Pharma for a once‑weekly oral peptide, HRS‑1596, aimed at obesity and other metabolic conditions.

Novo will pay $300 million upfront, with the total value of the deal potentially reaching $2.6 billion depending on milestones and royalties.

The candidate is a GLP‑1R/GIPR dual agonist that is ready for Phase 1 trials and has already received clearance in China to begin Phase 1 studies for weight management and type‑2 diabetes.

The therapy adds a new weekly dosing option to Novo's pipeline, complementing its existing oral semaglutide products and offering longer‑term differentiation, though it is not expected to shift near‑term competitive dynamics.