Work underway on new semaglutide implant—no needles or pills required
Novo Nordisk is now working with Vivani Medical, a California-based biopharmaceutical company, to evaluate the potential of a long-lasting semaglutide implant. This is a non-exclusive agreement between the two companies.
Novo Nordisk, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, sells semaglutide under the brand name Wegovy. Vivani is known for its drug implants, which are designed to help patients benefit from life-changing medications without ever needing to inject or ingest them.
The goal of this partnership is to reduce the risk of non-adherence and ensure patients taking semaglutide can receive the care their physicians have determined they need. The implant in question, currently known as NPM-139, is being developed to help patients with chronic weight management. It utilizes Vivani’s proprietary NanoPortal technology and could help patients receive the maximum benefits of treatment with just one or two treatments per year.
Vivani is also preparing the launch of a new first-in-human clinical trial that would randomize certain patients to either undergo treatment with an NPM-139 implant or receive semaglutide injections.
“The new agreement announced today supporting our semaglutide implant program in chronic weight management demonstrates Novo Nordisk's interest in evaluating our technology and its lead semaglutide application,” Adam Mendelsohn, PhD, Vivani president and CEO, said in a statement. “This agreement reinforces our confidence regarding the market opportunity for our GLP-1 implants under development. We believe that our NanoPortal implants under development, including NPM-139, could address a growing segment of patients who would prefer a convenient once- or twice-yearly treatment option and the peace of mind that treatment could be stopped at any time if that became necessary.”
GLP-1 drugs continue to be one of healthcare’s biggest stories
The rise of semaglutide and other GLP-1 medications is one of modern medicine’s biggest trends. These drugs were originally developed to treat diabetes, but they have been linked to substantial weight loss for a wide variety of patient populations. Different GLP-1 drugs have also been associated with certain cardiovascular benefits, helping them grow more and more popular among cardiologists and other clinicians who see high-risk heart patients on a daily basis.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.