Novo Nordisk agreed to pay up to $2 billion for the rights to a developmental weight-loss and obesity drug from Chinese pharmaceutical company The United Bio-Technology Co., as it looks to boost its pipeline of next-generation drugs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS Novo Nordisk has signed an exclusive global licensing deal worth up to $2 billion for UBT251, a weight-loss drug developed by China-based The United Laboratories International Holdings Limited.

Novo Nordisk is taking aim at Eli Lilly with a new obesity drug deal. Meanwhile, a survey shows doctors' perception of the health care system is improving.