The news: Novo Nordisk is looking to expand its pipeline of weight loss treatments via a licensing deal with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals that could be worth up to $1 billion.

• Lexicon’s LX9851 drug is an oral small-molecule candidate that could help patients keep weight off when they stop taking semaglutide (marketed by Novo as Ozempic and Wegovy).
• Separately, preclinical study data showed that when combined with semaglutide, Lexicon significantly reduced weight, food intake and fat mass compared with semaglutide alone.
• Lexicon could receive as much as $75 million in upfront and near-term payments if certain milestones are hit with the drug’s development. That could increase up to $1 billion if the deal meets agreed upon development, regulatory and sales milestones.