Novo Nordisk transfers Parkinson's cell therapy to Cellular Intelligence, which is backed by Zuckerberg.

      Novo will acquire an equity stake in Cellular Intelligence and is set to receive future milestone payments and royalties. The startup aims to use its AI platform on STEM-PD, a stem-cell-derived treatment that Novo halted last October.

      Novo Nordisk has transferred STEM-PD, an experimental stem-cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease, to Cellular Intelligence, an AI biotech company backed by Mark Zuckerberg, as announced on Monday.

      The financial details were not revealed. Novo will obtain an equity share in the startup and is eligible for future milestone payments and royalties. The therapy was discontinued last October when Novo closed its cell-therapy division during a comprehensive restructuring.

      STEM-PD is an allogeneic, stem-cell-derived treatment intended to replace dopamine-producing nerve cells that are lost in Parkinson’s disease. This treatment had been in early clinical development at Novo prior to the unit’s closure.

      Cellular Intelligence plans to employ its proprietary AI platform to expedite the program, scale up manufacturing, and reduce production costs.

      The company has raised over $60 million from investors, including Khosla Ventures and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is the philanthropic effort of Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.

      This agreement continues a trend of significant investment in AI-driven biology by CZI in recent months.

      For Novo, this deal addresses one of the unresolved issues stemming from last October’s restructuring, which focused on enhancing the company’s obesity and diabetes programs following a surge in demand for Wegovy and Ozempic that exceeded supply.

      The cell-therapy unit was primarily engaged in early-stage research rather than commercial activities; its closure allowed for the reallocation of engineering and manufacturing resources towards GLP-1 production.

      Last week, Novo reported that Wegovy comprised 65% of new prescriptions in the U.S. and that obesity-care sales increased by 22% on a constant-currency basis.

      For Cellular Intelligence, this deal provides a clinical-stage asset to strengthen its AI platform proposition. STEM-PD is well-characterized, having undergone preliminary clinical and preclinical development through Novo’s earlier investment.

      The startup's pitch to investors will now merge an in-development therapy with the claims of cost and speed associated with its AI platform.

      There is currently no timeline disclosed for the next clinical milestone. Cellular Intelligence has not indicated when it plans to submit an IND amendment or which dose-finding work will be continued from Novo’s previous program.

      Parkinson’s disease affects approximately 10 million individuals globally. Research groups have sought treatments to replace lost dopamine-producing cells for decades; Cellular Intelligence believes that AI-assisted manufacturing and dose selection could render such a treatment commercially viable within a timeframe that conventional cell-therapy programs have struggled to achieve.

      The companies did not clarify whether Novo’s equity stake grants it observer rights, IP back-licensing, or any operational involvement at Cellular Intelligence. The deal takes effect immediately.