In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Korro Bio, Inc. disclosed it has received written notice from Novo, of the company’s election to terminate the research collaboration and license agreement between the two companies.

According to the filing, Novo is electing to terminate the collaboration for convenience and under the agreement’s terms, Novo is entitled to terminate without cause upon 90 days’ prior written notice.¹ The termination is set to become effective on February 1, 2027.

What did the collaboration cover?

Under the original agreement, Korro granted Novo an exclusive worldwide license to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize certain licensed compounds and products tied to an initial target in the cardiometabolic field, along with a second target Novo had the right to nominate within a specified window.² Novo never nominated a second target.

As part of the deal, Korro received a $10 million upfront payment and reimbursement of certain research and development costs, along with receiving eligibility for development and commercial milestone payments plus tiered royalties on net sales.^1,2 No milestone payments were earned under the agreement at any point.

How did the agreement reach this point?

The companies amended the agreement effective November 11, 2025, pausing it for a 12-month hold period and suspending all research and development activities and corresponding obligations.¹ In 2025, Korro completed the wind-down of its R&D activities under the agreement, while Novo did not exercise its right to substitute the collaboration target during the hold period. That pause is also reflected in Korro’s third-quarter 2026 financial results as the company reported no collaboration revenue for the quarter ending on September 30, 2026, compared to $1.1 million in the same period a year earlier, a decrease the company attributes directly to the agreed pause.³

What happens now?

As of the termination date, the licenses granted under the agreement are set to end, and neither party is expected to retain rights to further research, develop, or commercialize the licensed compounds or products unless they agree otherwise.¹ Each party is set to keep it’s ownership interest in intellectual property arising from the collaboration.

Novo will reimburse Korro for additional third-party wind-down costs and non-cancellable committed costs tied to the termination, and will return or destroy Korro-transferred materials at Korro’s direction.¹ Certain provisions survive termination, including mutual confidentiality obligations and restrictions on Korro’s ability to research or develop products directed at the collaboration target.

What’s next?

For Korro, the Novo termination removes a cardiometabolic partnership that already went dormant, redirecting the company’s near-term narrative toward its wholly controlled rare-disease programs. The move reflects a broader pattern among biotechs navigating a tighter capital environment: as Maher Masoud, CEO of MaxCyte, told Pharmaceutical Executive earlier this year in regard to current biotech funding that, “Biotech funding can be a little bit lumpy at times. That's not new. We've seen this in the past. You have your tailwinds, and headwinds at times. What we have learned (and it's actually a good thing) is that the headwinds we've seen the past few years from the biotech industry have refocused the industry.”

Korro expects to begin dosing participants with urea cycle disorders in Part two of ANCHOR in the first half of 2027, report interim ANCHOR data in the second half of 2027, and submit a regulatory application for KRRO-111 in the first half of 2027.¹

Sources

1. FORM 8-K Korro Bio, Inc. United States Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, D.C. 20549, Korro Bio November 5, 2026, https://ir.korrobio.com/node/11041/html
2. Korro Bio Announces Collaboration with Novo Nordisk to Develop Two Therapeutic Candidates Korro Bio September 16, 2024, https://ir.korrobio.com/news-releases/news-release-details/korro-bio-announces-collaboration-novo-nordisk-develop-two
3. Korro Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update Korro Bio November 5, 2026, https://ir.korrobio.com/node/11041/html#krro-ex99_1.htm