Danish pharma Novo Nordisk is boosting its efforts to develop the world’s first glucose responsive insulin and transform the treatment of diabetes following its purchase of Ziylo, a spin-out from the UK’s University of Bristol.

Novo Nordisk said that glucose responsive insulin can help eliminate the risk of hypoglycemia, the main risk of insulin therapy, and help people living with diabetes achieve better metabolic control.

Ziylo has been developing synthetic glucose binding molecules for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The molecules are said to display an unprecedented selectivity to glucose in complex environments such as blood.

“We believe the glucose binding molecules discovered by the Ziylo team together with Novo Nordisk world-class insulin capabilities have the potential to lead to the development of glucose responsive insulins, which we hope can remove the risk of hypoglycemia and ensure optimal glucose control for people with diabetes,” said Marcus Schindler, senior vice president, global drug discovery at Novo Nordisk.

Novo Nordisk spun out certain of Ziylo’s research activities into new company Carbometrics before the acquisition was finalized. Subsequently, Carbometrics has entered into a research collaboration with Novo Nordisk to assist with the ongoing optimization of glucose binding molecules for use in glucose responsive insulins. It has also licensed rights to develop non-therapeutic applications of the molecules, with a focus on developing continuous glucose monitoring applications.

The companies did not reveal specific financial details of the transaction. However, Novo Nordisk said it could ultimately pay Ziylo more than $800 million in total if it achieves certain development, regulatory and sales milestones.