Novo Nordisk teams with OpenAI

Novo Nordisk said on April 14 it is partnering with OpenAI to use artificial intelligence across drug discovery, manufacturing and sales operations. (biospace.com) Novo said the tools will be used to analyze large datasets, identify drug candidates and shorten the path from research to patients, with pilot programs in research and development, manufacturing and commercial teams and full integration planned by the end of 2026. (biospace.com) The company is making the move while defending its lead in obesity and diabetes drugs against Eli Lilly and while trying to expand beyond current blockbusters such as Ozempic and Wegovy. Novo’s own pipeline spans obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and rare disorders, including late-stage programs such as CagriSema and semaglutide 7.2 milligrams. (novonordisk.com) Drugmakers have been pitching artificial intelligence as a way to speed one of the slowest parts of the business: sorting huge volumes of biology and trial data to find patterns that humans might miss. Novo said OpenAI will also help train its workforce in artificial intelligence use, while the company said the rollout will keep human oversight and data-governance controls. (cnbc.com) (biospace.com) A separate April 15 research report added another piece to Novo’s obesity strategy: semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, appeared to help diseased livers in mice through a direct effect, not only through weight loss. Researchers reported the work in *Cell Metabolism*. (medicalxpress.com) (wsau.com) The mouse study found receptors for semaglutide on a small subset of liver cells called liver sinusoidal endothelial cells, which researchers said make up about 3% of liver cells. That finding helps explain why patients in earlier studies saw liver improvements even when their weight loss was limited. (wsau.com) (medicalxpress.com) That liver angle is already commercially relevant for Novo. In 2025, semaglutide posted phase 3 results in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a severe fatty liver disease, and Novo’s pipeline also lists efruxifermin in phase 3 for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. (kcl.ac.uk) (novonordisk.com) Taken together, the April 14 partnership and the April 15 liver study show Novo pushing on two timelines at once: using artificial intelligence to move faster now, and building more evidence that semaglutide-class drugs can treat more than obesity and diabetes. (biospace.com) (medicalxpress.com)