Novo Nordisk’s partnership with Nanexa highlights the growing role of advanced drug-delivery technology, as PharmaShell could enable longer-acting therapies, reduce dosing frequency, improve patient convenience, and strengthen product differentiation.
The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly moving beyond the question of which molecule works best to a broader question: how can the same or similar therapy be delivered more conveniently, consistently and competitively? Novo Nordisk’s latest deal with Swedish drug-delivery company Nanexa illustrates this shift.
On September 24, 2026, Novo Nordisk entered into a global exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with Nanexa for its PharmaShell drug-delivery platform, with a total potential value of €1.165 billion (approximately $1.33 billion). The agreement covers up to five development programmes involving peptide medicines for obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions. The programmes are targeting monthly and quarterly administration.
The agreement includes €615 million ($700 million) in upfront and development/regulatory milestone payments, with total potential payments reaching €1.165 billion ($1.33 billion), plus low-single-digit royalties on future sales. Covering up to five development programmes, the deal gives Novo exclusive platform access without acquiring Nanexa. Nanexa’s shares subsequently more than doubled, reflecting strong investor confidence.
For Nanexa, the deal represents major commercial validation of its technology. For Novo Nordisk, it is a strategic investment in the next generation of long-acting medicines at a time when the competitive landscape in obesity and diabetes is rapidly evolving.
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What Is PharmaShell®?
At the centre of the deal is PharmaShell®, Nanexa’s proprietary drug-delivery technology based on Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD).
ALD is a highly precise coating technology traditionally associated with advanced materials and semiconductor manufacturing. Nanexa has adapted the principle for pharmaceutical formulation by applying an extremely thin inorganic coating around individual drug particles.
According to Nanexa, the coating is approximately 30 nanometres thick and is primarily based on non-toxic aluminium and zinc oxides. The thickness and composition of the coating can be precisely controlled, influencing how quickly the coating dissolves and therefore how the active pharmaceutical ingredient is released.
The basic commercial proposition is straightforward:
Drug particle → ultra-thin ALD coating → controlled dissolution → controlled drug release → longer duration of action.
Instead of the medicine being released rapidly after administration, the formulation is designed to create a controlled release profile over a much longer period.
Nanexa says the technology can potentially control release over days, weeks or months, depending on formulation and coating characteristics.
This is particularly relevant for peptide-based therapies, including the types of medicines used in metabolic diseases.
Market Statistics
Revenue: Novo Nordisk generated DKK 309.1 billion (~$46.7 billion) in revenue in 2025.
Operating Profit: The company reported DKK 127.7 billion (~$19.3 billion) in operating profit.
Obesity Sales: Obesity-care sales reached DKK 82.3 billion (~$12.4 billion) in 2025.
R&D Investment: Novo Nordisk invested more than DKK 82 billion (~$12.4 billion) in research and development.
Patients Reached: The company’s diabetes and obesity medicines reached 45.6 million people worldwide in 2025.
GLP-1 Market Share: Novo Nordisk held approximately 59.6% of the global branded GLP-1 obesity market by volume.
Ozempic Sales: Ozempic generated DKK 127.1 billion (~$19.2 billion) in sales during 2025.
Workforce: Novo Nordisk employed approximately 69,505 people globally at the end of 2025.
Drug Delivery Is Becoming a Product Differentiator
Drug delivery is increasingly evolving from a formulation-support function into a strategic product-differentiation tool. Pharmaceutical companies are using technologies such as polymeric microspheres, nanosuspensions, implants, in-situ depots and controlled-release coatings to modify drug dissolution, absorption and pharmacokinetic profiles. These approaches can extend therapeutic exposure, reduce peak–trough fluctuations and potentially lower dosing frequency, particularly for peptides, proteins and other molecules with short half-lives.
A real-world example is paliperidone, where Johnson & Johnson developed INVEGA TRINZA®, a long-acting injectable formulation enabling once-every-three-months administration for eligible patients with schizophrenia. The product demonstrates how delivery and formulation engineering can create a differentiated product proposition without requiring discovery of an entirely new active pharmaceutical ingredient.
This approach can strengthen product lifecycle management, extend commercial relevance and potentially address unmet patient needs. However, developing long-acting formulations requires precise control over drug loading, particle size, coating characteristics, release kinetics, stability, sterility and critical quality attributes. Manufacturing scale-up and regulatory requirements can further increase development complexity.
Ultimately, delivery innovation creates commercial value only when improved pharmacokinetics and convenience translate into better adherence, clinical outcomes, patient acceptance, manufacturing efficiency and payer value.
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The Platform Opportunity May Be Bigger Than One Drug
The strategic value of PharmaShell® lies in its potential to support multiple medicines rather than a single product. Novo Nordisk’s agreement covers up to five development programmes involving peptide medicines for obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases, with monthly and quarterly dosing among the targeted profiles. However, the companies have not publicly disclosed the individual candidates, so these should be viewed as strategic application areas rather than five officially identified products.
Obesity: PharmaShell® could enable longer-acting peptide formulations, potentially reducing injection frequency and treatment burden.
Type 2 Diabetes: Controlled-release formulations could provide sustained drug exposure while potentially reducing the frequency of administration.
Cardiometabolic Diseases: The platform could be extended to peptide therapies targeting broader metabolic and cardiovascular conditions.
Monthly Dosing: Nanexa has reported preclinical work indicating the potential for monthly semaglutide exposure, demonstrating the platform’s controlled-release capabilities.
Quarterly Dosing: The longer-term opportunity is 90-day or quarterly administration, although this remains a development objective rather than an approved treatment.
Technically, PharmaShell® uses Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) to create an ultra-thin coating around drug particles, controlling coating dissolution and drug-release kinetics. Nanexa states that the technology can support high drug loads and low injection volumes. The platform’s commercial scalability will ultimately depend on release consistency, stability, manufacturing economics, regulatory performance and patient acceptance. Successful validation across multiple programmes could transform PharmaShell® into a broader drug-delivery platform rather than a single-product technology.
The Bigger Market Question: Will Convenience Create Pricing Power?
The commercial potential of PharmaShell® will depend on whether its Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)-based controlled-release technology can translate formulation advantages into measurable healthcare value. By applying ultra-thin coatings to drug particles, PharmaShell® is designed to modulate dissolution and drug-release kinetics, potentially extending therapeutic exposure and reducing dosing frequency. However, longer-acting formulations must demonstrate consistent critical quality attributes, dose uniformity, stability, release kinetics, manufacturability and regulatory compliance. Payers may require evidence that reduced dosing frequency improves adherence, persistence and clinical outcomes before accepting premium pricing. Therefore, PharmaShell®’s market success will ultimately depend on balancing technical performance, patient convenience, manufacturing economics and reimbursement value.
Top 5 Recent Drug-Delivery Technology Developments Globally
AI-Designed Personalized Drug Delivery
AI and machine learning are increasingly being integrated into formulation development to predict dose requirements, drug-release behaviour and optimal formulation composition. When combined with 3D printing, these technologies could enable on-demand manufacturing of personalized oral dosage forms. Key challenges remain around data quality, regulatory validation, manufacturing reproducibility and clinical implementation.
Intelligent Miniaturized Drug-Delivery Devices
Emerging intelligent drug-delivery devices combine microelectronics, sensors, biomaterials and programmable reservoirs to control drug release. Advanced systems can potentially provide precise, automated and responsive dosing. Research is moving toward closed-loop platforms capable of responding to physiological signals, creating opportunities for personalized treatment in diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
Robotic Oral Delivery of Biologics
New ingestible robotic platforms are tackling the challenge of delivering peptides, proteins and biologics orally. Technologies use microneedles, mechanical actuation, hydrogels, pressure or ultrasound to overcome gastrointestinal barriers. These systems aim to protect biologics from enzymatic degradation while enabling absorption, potentially transforming injectable biologics into more convenient oral therapies.
High-Concentration Subcutaneous Delivery
Drug-device platforms are enabling large-volume or high-concentration biologics to move from intravenous infusion toward subcutaneous administration. On-body injectors and specialized formulations address viscosity, injection volume and delivery-time challenges. Sanofi’s subcutaneous isatuximab platform demonstrates this trend, combining formulation engineering with wearable delivery technology to reduce treatment-administration burden.
Next-Generation Lipid Nanoparticles
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are evolving beyond their established role in mRNA vaccines toward delivery of siRNA, gene-editing components and other nucleic-acid therapeutics. Current research focuses on improving tissue targeting, intracellular delivery, stability and tolerability. Better LNP engineering could expand nucleic-acid medicines beyond liver-focused applications into previously difficult-to-target tissues.
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Conclusion
The Novo Nordisk-Nanexa collaboration signals a broader shift in the pharmaceutical market toward advanced drug-delivery technologies as a source of product differentiation and commercial value. PharmaShell®’s potential to enable monthly or quarterly dosing could address patient convenience while strengthening the competitive positioning of long-acting therapies. The deal also highlights growing pharmaceutical investment in formulation platforms that can support multiple products rather than a single molecule. As competition intensifies across obesity, diabetes and other chronic-disease markets, technologies that improve dosing frequency, adherence and patient experience could become increasingly important drivers of market growth, lifecycle management and strategic partnerships.