Novo Nordisk said it had agreed to license a potential rival to its weight-loss drug Ozempic from a Chinese company. The Danish pharma company said it would pay $200 million upfront and up to $1.8 billion in milestone payments to United Laboratories International for the rights to UBT251,

Novo Nordisk has licensed an oral obesity drug that works via an uncommon mechanism and may help patients maintain their weight loss when they stop taking Wegovy.

Novo Nordisk is licensing Lexicon Pharmaceuticals' experimental obesity drug in a deal worth up to $1 billion, the Danish drugmaker's second deal this week, as it looks to strengthen the pipeline of its weight-loss treatments.