Novo Nordisk is licensing Lexicon Pharmaceuticals' experimental obesity drug in a deal worth up to $1 billion, the Danish drugmaker's second deal this week, as it looks to strengthen the pipeline of its weight-loss treatments.

Lexicon's stock rose 60% after securing a potential $1 billion deal with Novo Nordisk for preclinical obesity drug LX9851. Click here to read my analysis.

Lexicon's LX9851 targets ACSL5, a liver enzyme involved in fat metabolism that helps moderate fat accumulation and slow down gastric emptying.