Novo Nordisk announced it is discontinuing its cell therapy R&D unit and laying off nearly all of the division’s roughly 250 employees as part of a companywide reorganization under new CEO Maziar Mike Doustdar. The move ends work on several cell‑based programs, including efforts targeting Type 1 diabetes and cardiac indications. Novo said it will seek partners to continue certain innovations but will reallocate capital to its strategic priorities such as obesity and metabolic disease. The decision follows other recent corporate shifts that prioritize late‑stage metabolic assets over earlier‑stage cell therapy programs. Cell therapy refers to approaches that use living cells as therapeutic agents; exiting this modality signals a recalibration of R&D risk tolerance and manufacturing commitments among large pharmas.