Fenwick Client Corvidia Therapeutics Acquired by Novo Nordisk

Fenwick client Corvidia Therapeutics Inc., a privately held clinical stage company focused on the research and development of transformative therapies for cardio-renal diseases, today announced its acquisition by Fenwick client Novo Nordisk A/S, a leading global healthcare company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will acquire all outstanding shares of Corvidia Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $725 million in cash. Total payments to Corvidia Therapeutics shareholders could ultimately amount to $2.1 billion in cash upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones by Novo Nordisk.

Fenwick has represented Corvidia since company inception, having provided the initial intellectual property due diligence for in-license of Corvidia Therapeutics’ lead candidate, ziltivekimab, from MedImmune Ltd. Since execution of the MedImmune agreement, Fenwick has provided ongoing life cycle patent management advice, including patent drafting and prosecution of the next generation patent estate for this repurposed clinical asset. Ziltivekimab is a high affinity fully human monoclonal antibody directed against Interleukin-6 (IL-6). Ziltivekimab was originally developed by MedImmune as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis; Corvidia has refocused development on reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and inflammation.

More information about the acquisition is available from the company announcement.

The Fenwick patent team includes intellectual property partner Dan Becker, M.D., and patent agent Danni Sun, Ph.D.