Novo Nordisk to buy Akero Therapeutics for $5.2 billion over liver drug
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Novo Nordisk to buy Akero Therapeutics for $5.2 billion over liver drug")
A signage of Novo Nordisk is seen during the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on July 17, 2025. Photograph: (AFP)
Novo Nordisk-Akero Therapeutics deal: Novo Nordisk is focusing on developing medicines that deal with obesity and diabetes, which can also treat cardiometabolic conditions such as MASH.
Novo Nordisk has said that it will buy US pharma companyAkero Therapeutics for a whopping $5.2 billion. The decision was made as the company wants to gain access to a promising liver disease drug.
This is the first major deal made under the leadershipof the CEO of the Danish firm, Mike Doustdar. He took over the reins of the company in July. His main task at the Danish firm is believed to be curbing losses of the market share to US rival Eli Lilly.
The decision came weeks after Novo Nordisk said it would lay off 9000 people.
Novo Nordisk is focusing on developing medicines that deal with obesity and diabetes, which can also treat cardiometabolic conditions such as MASH.
Akero is testing its drug, efruxifermin, in a late-stage trial in patients with severe liver scarring, or cirrhosis, due to a type of fatty liver disease known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH, according toReuters.
If the trials are successful, this new drug could prove to be a breakthrough in the treatment of fatty liver disease, Doustdar said in a statement.
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He said it could also become a treatment for the liver condition, which can progress to more serious liver-linked problems.
How much did Novo offer Akero's shareholders?
Novo has offered Akero's shareholders $54 per share upfront in cash. This offer is a premium of 16.2 per cent over the share's last-known price.
This amounts to a payment of $4.7 billion upfront. If efruxifermin secures a full U.S. approval for the condition, the Danish company will pay an additional $6 per share.
Last year, the company bought Cardior Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a treatment for hypertension, for up to $1.1 billion.
Some Novo investors recently told Reuters that they want to see the company invest heavily in research and development to build out its future drug pipeline and revive investor confidence.