Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  announced that it has earned a third $10 million milestone payment in 2026 from Novo Nordisk A/S following the achievement of a key patient dosing milestone in the ongoing Phase 1 clinical development program for LX9851, a first-in-class oral small molecule inhibitor of ACSL5 being developed for obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

LX9851 is being advanced by Novo Nordisk under the companies' exclusive worldwide license agreement signed in 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk obtained an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize LX9851 in all indications.

With the achievement of this milestone, Lexicon has now earned $75 million of the $1 billion in potential upfront, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments available under its collaboration with Novo Nordisk. In addition, Lexicon is entitled to receive tiered royalties on future net sales of LX9851.

“This milestone represents another important step forward in the development of LX9851 and further demonstrates the strong execution of our collaboration with Novo Nordisk,” said Mike Exton, CEO and director of Lexicon. “In just over a year, the program has progressed from a licensing agreement to the successful achievement of multiple clinical development milestones. We believe LX9851's novel mechanism and oral profile have the potential to offer an important new approach for people living with obesity and associated metabolic diseases, and we remain excited about the program's continued advancement."

The Phase 1 development program for LX9851 was initiated by Novo Nordisk in March 2026 and is investigating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single and multiple ascending doses of LX9851 compared to placebo in adult subjects who are overweight or obese. The Phase 1 program is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027.