Novo Nordisk to Buy Corvidia for as Much as $2.1 Billion

Novo Nordisk A/S, the world’s biggest maker of medicines for diabetes, agreed to pay as much as $2.1 billion for Corvidia Therapeutics Inc., a closely-held company developing heart- and kidney-disease drugs.

The purchase of the AstraZeneca Plc spinoff includes an upfront payment of $725 million in cash, Bagsvaerd, Denmark-based Novo said in a statement Thursday. Venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners is Corvidia’s largest shareholder. The payments from Novo may rise if Corvidia’s experimental medicines reach certain regulatory and sales goals.

The deal is the latest move by the Danish pharmaceutical company into territories beyond its main business of ...