Ascendis Pharma Regains Rights to Obesity Drug, Discloses $400 Million Share Buyback

04:37 AM EDT, 09/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Ascendis Pharma (ASND) will regain exclusive rights to certain drug treatments for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, including obesity, having terminated a 2024 collaboration deal with Novo Nordisk (NVO), the drugmaker disclosed on Monday. In particular, all rights to once-monthly TransCon Semaglutide obesity treatments will revert to Ascendis upon termination, and neither party has any remaining financial obligations to the other, the company said. Ascendis said it plans to keep exploring treatments of metabolic and cardiovascular ailments, including the viability of TransCon Semaglutide, an investigational long-acting treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Separately, Ascendis also disclosed on Monday that it has authorized a $400 million buyback of ordinary shares. The program does not require Ascendis to repurchase any specific number of shares, and may be altered at any time without notice. Ascendis said purchases may be made through open-market transactions, privately negotiated deals, block trades, accelerated share repurchases or 10b5-1 trading plans, among other methods.