Global pharmaceutical leader Novo Nordisk recently convened a discourse session with business development (BD) executives from biotech firms in South Korea. The aim was to exchange insights on innovative strategies in critical areas such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and rare blood disorders.

On April 5th, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk and Novo Holdings, orchestrated the 'Novo Nordisk Partnering Day.' During this event, representatives from Novo Nordisk delineated the company's open innovation strategy to biotech BD executives.

Dr. Jenny Yang, Head of External Innovation in Asia Pacific at Novo Nordisk, took the floor to elucidate the prerequisites for establishing partnerships with the company. Dr. Yang spearheads external innovation in the Asia Pacific region, overseeing the evaluation of viable technologies, new targets, and therapies from ideation to proof of concept (PoC) in clinical phase 2.

Addressing the audience, Jenny Yang underscored the significance of 'due diligence' in partnership ventures with biotechs, asserting, "Biotech firms in South Korea must identify potential partners within the Asia-Pacific region. The due diligence stage is paramount for Novo Nordisk when forging partnerships with biotechs." She emphasized, "The success or failure of a deal hinges on 'data.' Collaboration itself holds greater importance than merely achieving the end goal."

Furthermore, Dr. Yang elaborated, "In our case, due diligence typically spans two months. Biotechs aiming to partner with major pharmaceutical entities like us must possess distinctive attributes." She remarked, "We evaluate whether biotechs exhibit specificity in molecules, novel modes of action (MoA), and other critical factors."

Advocating for biotechs to establish 'economic superiority' through robust scientific assets, Jenny Yang highlighted, "Novo Nordisk scrutinizes whether the pipelines and technologies offered by biotechs complement our strengths." She stressed, "It is imperative that an asset yields synergistic effects with our strategies, platforms, and projects."

Concluding her address, Jenny Yang emphasized the importance of 'intellectual property rights' in partnership negotiations. She elucidated, "Novo Nordisk assesses the existence of other substances when reviewing new candidate substances." She added, "The expiration period of substance patents significantly influences deal negotiations, alongside verification of patent filing dates."