Ozempic's pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, and the venture-capital firm, BioGeneration Ventures, are investing in Tanai Therapeutics, a spin-off company from the Flemish Institute of Biotechnology (VIB), the company announced on Thursday.
The funds will support the development of Tanai's "promising" obesity treatment, which has the potential to facilitate the selective "promotion of fat loss through increased energy expenditure while preserving muscle mass," explained a Senior Vice President at Novo Nordisk, Karin Conde-Knape, in a press release.
Although Tanai Therapeutics did not disclose the exact financial contribution of the companies, it stated that together with existing investors, it has secured over €6 million of initial funding.
"This collaboration and financing will enable Tanai Therapeutics to advance its obesity program towards key milestones, and we look forward to reporting on the company’s successes." said the Managing Director at VIB, Jérôme Van Biervliet, in a statement to the press.
This is Novo Nordisk's first equity investment under their Science2Medicine iNNvest programme, which is dedicated to supporting innovation of biotech targetting cardiometabolic conditions.
Tanai Therapeutics was founded in 2023. It was created based on research by the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research. It obtained initial financial support from V-Bio Venture, VBI, and Qbic.
