Novo Nordisk Licenses Hengrui's Once-Weekly Oral GLP-1/GIP Dual Agonist HRS-1596 in a Deal Worth Up to $2.6 Billion

Key takeaways

• Novo Nordisk licensed HRS-1596 from Hengrui Pharma on 29 September 2026 for up to $2.6 billion, including a $300 million upfront payment.
• HRS-1596 is a GLP-1 receptor and GIP receptor dual agonist designed for potential once-weekly oral dosing — a dosing interval not yet achieved by any marketed GLP-1 agent.
• The asset is phase 1-ready; Chinese regulatory authorities have approved initiation of phase 1 trials, but no human efficacy or safety data have been disclosed.
• The transaction is Novo's second in-licensing of a Chinese GLP-1 candidate in 2026 and reflects a broader industry pattern of Western pharma accessing China's dense oral incretin pipeline.
• Separately published data from Pinsent Masons show global GLP-1 patent applications rose 28% in the year to March 2026, underscoring the IP arms race accompanying these deal flows.

The deal

Hengrui Pharma has granted Novo Nordisk exclusive global rights — outside mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan — to develop, manufacture, and commercialise HRS-1596, a phase 1-ready glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor (GIPR) dual agonist with potential for once-weekly oral dosing. Hengrui will receive a $300 million upfront payment and is eligible for development, regulatory, and commercial milestones that bring the agreement's potential value to up to $2.6 billion, plus royalties on net sales in the licensed territory.

Hengrui is eligible to receive potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $2.3 billion. Neither company disclosed a royalty rate.

The agreement is subject to clearance under the US Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary closing conditions, and the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

What HRS-1596 is and how it is designed to work

HRS-1596 is a phase 1-ready dual agonist targeting the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptors. The compound is designed to reduce weight and improve glycaemic control through multiple mechanisms, including appetite suppression, stimulation of insulin secretion, and improved insulin sensitivity.

The candidate is designed for potential once-weekly oral administration, which could reduce dosing frequency compared with currently available oral GLP-1 treatments. That distinction is commercially significant: the currently marketed oral GLP-1 benchmarks — Novo's own oral semaglutide and Eli Lilly's orforglipron (Foundayo) — are both once-daily pills. A confirmed once-weekly oral formulation would represent a material step forward in convenience, though HRS-1596 remains at the preclinical-to-clinical transition stage, and its clinical efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetic profile, and feasibility of once-weekly oral dosing have yet to be established in human trials.

Development status and what comes next

Hengrui's HRS-1596 has received approval in China to initiate phase 1 clinical trials for weight management and type 2 diabetes. Hengrui has already received Chinese regulatory clearance to start phase 1 trials, making this a pre-data transaction. Novo is licensing a preclinical-to-phase-1 asset and absorbing the full development risk in every major market outside China.

Several important questions remain unanswered in the companies' disclosure. It does not say when Novo expects to begin its own trials, whether Novo will run global phase 1 studies, or what manufacturing plans exist. It also gives no clinical results, pharmacokinetic data, or comparison with existing treatments.

The planned phase 1 programme in China will provide the first clinical assessment of HRS-1596. Early-stage studies are expected to characterise safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamic effects before larger trials evaluate weight reduction and glycaemic outcomes.

The first concrete signal worth tracking is the phase 1 readout from Hengrui's China trial: if early pharmacokinetic data on oral absorption holds up, that will either validate the $2.6 billion ceiling or expose how much of this deal is structural option rather than conviction.

Strategic context: Novo's second China deal and pipeline pressure

Nearly 250 Chinese GLP-1 candidates are under development, according to data provider Pharmcube, and major global drugmakers including AstraZeneca, Merck, and Pfizer have struck rights deals with Chinese developers. Novo's HRS-1596 agreement is its second Chinese GLP-1 in-licensing of 2026: a trial of the jointly developed UBT251 obesity drug candidate, in a separate programme with United Laboratories International, showed a mean weight loss of up to 19.7% after 24 weeks.

The agreement also reflects the growing role of Chinese drug developers in global pharmaceutical dealmaking. From a strategic standpoint, oral peptide delivery is technically difficult, and Novo already has its own oral semaglutide programme. Acquiring external dual-agonist candidates at the earliest possible stage — before phase 1 data resets price expectations upward — allows Novo to build optionality without waiting to see whose formulation chemistry performs best.

The $300 million upfront on a phase 1-ready asset is a large number for that stage, suggesting Novo's assessment of HRS-1596's oral bioavailability profile is already favourable, though no phase 1 human data yet exists to confirm that.

Separately, Reuters reporting noted that Novo's shares have tumbled more than 70% from record highs amid Lilly's competition, and Novo's chief executive told Reuters this month that the company is preparing for a market in which pills play a much larger role. HRS-1596 sits within that repositioning.

The broader GLP-1 patent landscape

The deal arrives alongside fresh data quantifying the intensity of GLP-1 intellectual property competition. The number of patent applications filed globally relating to GLP-1 drugs rose 28% — from 726 to 936 — in the year to 31 March 2026, as pharmaceutical companies seek to extend the patent life of weight-loss drugs, according to research from international law firm Pinsent Masons. The number of GLP-1 patent applications has increased by 146% over the past five years, from 380 in the year to March 2021.

Starting in 2026, key patent protections for semaglutide are expected to expire in several high-volume markets, including China, Brazil, India, and Canada, while patent exclusivity is expected to remain in force in Europe and the United States until around 2030, although timelines may vary by formulation and indication. That asymmetry helps explain why early-stage licensing from Chinese originators — whose assets are structurally outside the primary semaglutide IP thicket — holds particular appeal for Western companies seeking differentiated oral mechanisms.

The expiration of semaglutide patents from 2026 onwards does not appear to signal a decline of the GLP-1 class. Rather, it marks a transition to a more competitive and diversified therapeutic ecosystem, shaped by next-generation molecules.

Implications for research procurement

For UK laboratory procurement teams, the HRS-1596 transaction has limited immediate practical consequence: the compound is not approved anywhere and will not be accessible through clinical or research channels until phase 1 data emerge. Researchers should note that HRS-1596 has not been approved anywhere, and the announcement does not include efficacy or safety data.

The deal is, however, a useful structural reference point. It demonstrates that the once-weekly oral GLP-1/GIP receptor dual-agonist space is now viewed by at least one major originator as worth $300 million in pre-clinical-stage commitment. That valuation signal will likely influence both research grant prioritisation and the volume of peptide-based pharmacokinetic studies submitted for laboratory analysis over the next 18 to 24 months as phase 1 programmes across the sector multiply.

Procurement teams sourcing reference standards or research-grade GLP-1 and GIP receptor peptide analogues should expect continued demand pressure and should ensure suppliers can demonstrate documented chain of custody and current Certificates of Analysis, particularly as the proliferation of Chinese GLP-1 candidates increases the risk of mislabelled or cross-contaminated materials reaching research workflows.