At the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Novo Nordisk signaled its dominance with its largest-ever presence, conducting over 200 partner meetings. Following the high-profile bidding war for Metsera, Tamara Darsow, SVP of Global Business Development, confirmed that the company is actively scouting for strategic assets to complete its obesity and diabetes portfolio.
Under the leadership of new CEO Mike Doustdar, the Danish pharmaceutical giant has been authorized to pursue “very big” acquisitions. However, Darsow emphasized that the firm’s strategy remains disciplined, focusing on the quality and clinical synergy of potential deals rather than just transaction size.
Core Strategic Objectives:
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Mechanistic Diversity: Beyond current incretin-based therapies (like GLP-1), Novo is exploring novel biological pathways to enhance weight loss efficacy and patient tolerability.
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Patient Convenience: A strong interest exists in long-acting treatments, such as once-monthly injectables, to improve treatment adherence.
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Broadening Clinical Scope: This intent was evidenced by the $5.2 billion acquisition of Akero Therapeutics, aimed at treating advanced metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with cirrhosis (F4).
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Portfolio Refinement: Following a strategic shift, Novo has exited cell therapy R&D to double down on modality platforms that directly complement its core metabolic pipeline.
Despite recent legal hurdles and write-offs involving KBP Biosciences, Darsow maintained that Novo Nordisk remains “geographically agnostic.” The company continues to monitor high-quality scientific assets worldwide, including those from China’s burgeoning biotech sector, provided they meet rigorous standards for clinical relevance and scientific integrity.
Source: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/200-jpm-pitches-novo-nordisk-bd-head-searches-next-metsera