Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and U.S. tech firm Valo Health said on Wednesday they were expanding their 2023 agreement to develop new treatments for cardiometabolic diseases using human data and artificial intelligence (AI).

Novo Nordisk is doubling down on its collaboration with Valo Health, committing up to $190 million in near-term payments—and billions on the back end—to apply artificial intelligence to up to 20 programs.

The investment continues a Novo dealmaking spree to cement its leadership status in the cardiometabolic space, with partnerships with Photys Therapeutics, Ascendis Pharma and two Flagship-backed start-ups.

Scope of collaboration originally signed in 2023 will significantly expand to enable the discovery and development of up to 20 novel drug programmes in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseaseExpanded collaboration includes near-term payments totalling up to 190 million US dollars,

Denmark's Novo Nordisk on Wednesday announced an expansion of its collaboration with Valo Health to discover and develop novel treatments for obesity, type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It has committed to a near-term payment of $190 million and the collaboration expects milestone payments of approximately $4.