The deal with Novo Nordisk Catalent is nearing completion
A view of the Novo Nordisk logo at the company's office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, March 8, 2024.
Tom Little | Reuters
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Novo Nordisk has just moved one step closer to significantly improving supplies of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic.
The Danish drugmaker's parent company, Novo Holdings, received approval from European antitrust regulators last week to move forward with its planned $16.5 billion takeover of U.S. drugmaker Catalent – a deal that has raised eyebrows among rival drugmakers as well had raised concerns among lawmakers.
That leaves the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as the final hurdle Novo Holdings must overcome to solidify the colossal deal the company announced in February. Novo Holdings and Novo Nordisk said they expect the transaction to close by the end of the month.
Catalent is an attractive takeover target for Novo Holdings, which owns 77% of the voting shares in Novo Nordisk.
The deal could increase availability of the drugs as Catalent is the main supplier of fill-finish work, which includes filling and packaging syringes and injection pens for Wegovy and Ozempic. Novo Holdings will immediately sell three Catalent sites to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion upon completion of the transaction, making the drugmaker better prepared to meet increasing demand for its products.
“In the anti-obesity arms race, capacity continues to matter, and the completion of this deal could significantly accelerate Novo's ability to serve this growing market,” Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note on Friday. “Novo emphasized last quarter that it continues to see no issues with patient demand and that for every dose discussed, capacity is the biggest bottleneck to growing its GLP-1 franchises.”
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, explicitly stated that the transaction would not pose a significant threat to competition. The commission said drug manufacturers continued to have access to several alternative manufacturers of prefilled syringes and orally disintegrating tablets.
“The transaction would not result in customers lacking alternative sources of supply to Catalent,” the Commission stressed, noting that “there is sufficient spare capacity on the market.”
Rival drugmakers have rejected the deal.
Earlier this year Eli Lilly was the first to point out that there could be problems since the company is a major competitor to Novo Nordisk in the weight loss drug space. In August, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks also told analysts that the company relies on a Catalent site for some production, but that “it's more of an oddity that your main competitor is also your contract manufacturer, and how to resolve this situation.”
RocheThomas Schinecker, the company's top executive, also said in a media call in October that the Catalent deal would have no impact on the company but “could pose a problem for other smaller players.” He said it was “not a good idea” to limit competition in the weight-loss drug space, which Roche wants to join.
Also in October, a coalition of more than ten labor unions, public interest organizations and consumer groups wrote a letter to FTC Commissioner Lina Khan urging her to “challenge this transaction” and ensure that “competition is protected and consumers.” have unrestricted access to treatment.” .”
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Nobel laureates call on senators to oppose confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attend a campaign rally sponsored by the conservative group Turning Point USA in Duluth, Georgia, United States, on October 23, 2024.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Nearly 80 Nobel laureates in chemistry, medicine, economics and physics signed a letter Monday urging the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick last month after saying in October that he would let him “go wild” on health care. Kennedy, who briefly ran as an independent candidate in the presidential election, has previously spread misinformation and conspiracy theories on topics such as vaccines, Covid-19 and autism, among others.
If the Senate confirms Kennedy as head of HHS, he would be responsible for managing the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs and the National Institutes of Health.
In the letter, obtained by CNBC on Monday, the Nobel laureates said they “strongly urge” senators to vote against Kennedy's nomination. The New York Times first reported the letter.
“In addition to his lack of qualifications or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration, Mr. Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines,” the letter said.
“Given his record, placing Mr. Kennedy at the helm of DHHS would endanger public health and undermine America's global leadership in the health sciences in both the public and commercial sectors,” it said.
The letter's signatories include 31 Nobel Prize winners in medicine, 18 in physics, 17 in chemistry and 11 in economics. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, who won the Medicine Prize this year for their discovery of microRNA, signed the letter. Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, who won the economics prize this year for their work on how institutions influence the wealth of nations, also signed the letter.
Here is the full text:
December 9, 2024
To members of the US Senate:
We, the undersigned Nobel Laureates, are writing to ask you to oppose the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
The proposal to put Mr. Kennedy in charge of the federal agencies responsible for protecting the health of American citizens and conducting medical research that benefits our country and the rest of humanity has been widely criticized for several reasons. In addition to his lack of qualifications or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration, Mr. Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines, such as those that prevent measles and polio; a critic of the known positive effects of fluoridation of drinking water; a proponent of conspiracy theories about remarkably successful treatments for AIDS and other diseases; and a belligerent critic of respected agencies (particularly the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health). The head of DHHS should continue to promote and improve – not threaten – these important and highly respected institutions and their employees.
Given his record, putting Mr. Kennedy at the helm of DHHS would endanger public health and undermine America's global leadership in the health sciences in both the public and commercial sectors.
We urge you to vote against confirming his appointment as Secretary of DHHS.
77 Nobel Prize winners in medicine, chemistry, physics and economics
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