Novo Nordisk struck a multi‑hundred‑million to multi‑billion dollar collaboration with Vivtex to accelerate oral delivery of peptide and protein therapeutics, committing up to roughly $2.1 billion across up‑front, research, milestone and royalty payments in separate reports. The alliance pairs Novo’s metabolic pipeline expertise with Vivtex’s gut‑focused screening and formulation platform that aims to enable reliable oral absorption of large biologics. Vivtex, an MIT spinout co‑founded by researchers including Robert Langer, brings a gut‑on‑a‑chip and high‑throughput screening approach that tests formulations for GI stability and mucosal uptake. Novo’s investment follows its recent regulatory wins and commercialization of oral GLP‑1 formats, and expands the company’s strategy to pursue oral options across metabolic indications. The deal underscores the industry’s strategic pivot to oral biologics as a commercial and patient‑experience differentiator and could accelerate broader adoption of non‑injectable peptide therapeutics if translational hurdles are overcome.