Novo Nordisk Terminates $598M Heart Failure Cell Therapy Collaboration with Heartseed Amid Major Restructuring

Novo Nordisk has ended its global cell therapy partnership with Heartseed, a Japanese biotech, which focused on an allogeneic cell therapy (HS-001) for advanced heart failure123.

The collaboration, initiated in 2021, was valued at up to $598 million, including $55 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments13.

Novo Nordisk cited 'company-wide restructuring' and a new focus on core businesses—primarily diabetes and obesity—as the main reasons for discontinuing the partnership13.

This move is part of a broad organizational transformation led by new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar, which also includes plans to cut about 9,000 jobs globally13.

All intellectual property and international development rights for the heart failure therapy will revert to Heartseed, which will now evaluate new strategies for overseas development while continuing to develop HS-001 in Japan13.

Heartseed indicated that operational progress on the therapy was ongoing and not interrupted by scientific or clinical setbacks, emphasizing that the termination was strategic—not technical or clinical—in origin13.

The agreement’s end means Heartseed will not receive further milestone payments from Novo, and the company is re-assessing its business plan for the therapy's future outside Japan23.

Sources:

1. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/novo-dumps-heart-failure-cell-therapy-partner-heartseed-calling-598m-collab-amid

2. https://news.futunn.com/en/post/62767386/heartseed-says-novo-nordisk-ends-partnership-on-heart-cell-therapy

3. https://www.biospace.com/business/novo-breaks-598m-heartseed-pact-amid-decisive-restructuring-by-new-ceo