Key findings
- Aspect Biosystems has acquired rights to Novo Nordisk technologies for stem cell-derived islet cells and hypoimmune cell engineering.
- Aspect will lead development, manufacturing, and commercialization, while Novo Nordisk retains the option to expand its role later.
Novo Nordisk and Aspect Biosystems have been partnering up on cellular diabetes therapies since 2023, but unfortunately, in late 2025, Novo announced taking a cautious step back from stem cell development, laying off most of the division’s employees.
The companies just announced that Aspect Biosystems will acquire the rights to Novo’s stem cell-derived islet cell and hypoimmune cell engineering technologies, which will continue to carry the torch.
Sidenote – There’s an interesting spin-out from the Novo layoffs: Nordic Cell Therapy Group, founded by Carlos Villaescusa, PhD, former Director/Head of Cell Therapy at Novo. Looking forward to seeing what Carlos and his team do in 2026; they’re pretty active on LinkedIn.
What is Aspect Biosystems?
Aspect Biosystems is a biotech company developing bioengineered cellular medicines using a platform combining AI-powered bioprinting, therapeutic cells, hypoimmune cell engineering, and biomaterials. They appear to be mostly focused on metabolic and endocrine diseases, and the islet replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes aims to restore blood glucose control without chronic immune suppression.
The cell therapies will likely be allogeneic (donor-derived) and designed for scalable, off-the-shelf manufacturing.
What’s changing
Under the updated agreement, Aspect will lead development, manufacturing, and commercialization. Novo Nordisk will have defined rights to expand its role in later-stage development and commercialization.
The agreement includes integrating select Novo Nordisk cell therapy R&D and manufacturing capabilities from the United States and Denmark into Aspect’s Canada-anchored platform.
Novo Nordisk will also make an additional equity investment in Aspect and provide research funding. The company will be eligible to receive royalties and milestone payments on future product sales from Aspect.
“Our partnership with Novo Nordisk combines more than a century of their global leadership in the fight against diabetes with Aspect’s leadership in cell therapy and our biotech speed and agility, creating a powerful force multiplier to deliver clinical impact,” said Tamer Mohamed, founder and CEO, Aspect Biosystems. “By integrating key technologies and capabilities, we are strengthening our full-stack platform, accelerating our path to curative cell therapies, and advancing our vision to build a generational biotechnology company that delivers global impact for people living with serious diseases.”
Novo Nordisk is a Denmark-based healthcare company focused on chronic diseases including diabetes. More information is available at novonordisk.com.
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