With the focus of developing new treatment solutions for cardiovascular disease, Novo Nordisk entered into a licensing agreement with Heartseed for the latter’s stem cell-based therapy asset, HS-001, for heart failure. The deal, which is worth up to US$598 M, will utilise Heartseed’s refined cardiomyocytes produced from induced pluripotent stem cells for the treatment of heart failure caused by ischemic heart disease. The mechanism of HS-001 relies on implanted clusters of cells which grow and synchronise with myocardium muscle to generate electric impulses and restore heart function.