TUESDAY, March 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company, has signed a major deal worth up to $2 billion for the rights to a new obesity and diabetes drug, the company announced March 24. The drug, called UBT251, is being developed by United Bio-Technology (Hengqin) Co., a Chinese pharmaceutical company.

Novo Nordisk said it had agreed to license a potential rival to its weight-loss drug Ozempic from a Chinese company. The Danish pharma company said it would pay $200 million upfront and up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments to United Laboratories International for the rights to UBT251,

Novo Nordisk agreed to pay up to $2 billion for the rights to a developmental weight-loss and obesity drug from Chinese pharmaceutical company The United Bio-Technology Co., as it looks to boost its pipeline of next-generation drugs.