Novo Nordisk Terminates $598M Cell Therapy Collaboration with Heartseed Amid Strategic Restructuring

Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has ended its collaboration with Japanese biotech Heartseed, scrapping a potential $598 million deal focused on developing an allogeneic cell therapy for advanced heart failure. The termination comes as part of Novo's company-wide restructuring efforts, which aim to concentrate resources on diabetes and obesity treatments.

Collaboration Breakdown and Strategic Shift

Novo Nordisk informed Heartseed of the collaboration's termination, citing "strategic reviews and shifts" in its business operations. The partnership, established in 2021, granted Novo exclusive development and commercialization rights for Heartseed's cell therapy worldwide, except in Japan, where the companies were set to share profits equally.

Heartseed expressed surprise at the decision, stating it was "difficult to reasonably foresee" the termination despite awareness of Novo's ongoing restructuring. The biotech emphasized that the collaboration had been "progressing smoothly at the operational level" and pointed to the close link between heart failure and Novo's focus areas of diabetes and obesity.

Implications for Heartseed and Its Cell Therapy

Heartseed's investigational treatment consists of purified heart muscle cell clusters derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), designed to be transplanted during open-heart surgery alongside coronary artery bypass grafts. A phase 1/2 trial evaluating the therapy in 10 patients with severe heart failure concluded at the end of July 2025.

With the termination of the Novo deal, Heartseed now faces the challenge of reviewing its "overseas partner strategy and business plan going forward." The company plans to focus on developing the treatment in Japan using existing funds, while all intellectual property previously licensed to Novo will be returned.

Novo Nordisk's Restructuring and Future Outlook

Novo Nordisk's decision to end the Heartseed collaboration is part of a broader restructuring initiative under new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar. The company aims to realign resources toward high-impact R&D and commercial efforts in diabetes and obesity, with plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 9,000 employees.

A Novo spokesperson confirmed the discontinuation of the collaboration for "strategic reasons" and indicated that more details would be shared in the company's third-quarter earnings release on November 5, 2025. CEO Doustdar acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, stating, "Sometimes the hardest decisions are the right ones for the future we're building."