Novo Nordisk Catalent deal closes | Wilnesh News

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Novo Nordisk It’s just one step closer to significantly improving its supply of its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.

The Danish drugmaker’s parent company, Novo Holdings, acquired Agree Last week, European antitrust regulators approved a proposed $16.5 billion acquisition of U.S. drugmaker Catalent, a deal that has raised concerns among rival drugmakers and lawmakers.

That leaves the FTC as the final hurdle Novo Holdings needs to overcome to solidify the massive deal the company announced in February. Novo Holdings and Novo Nordisk said they expected the transaction to close by the end of this month.

Catalent is an attractive takeover target for Novo Holdings, which owns 77% of the voting shares in Novo Nordisk.

The deal is likely to increase supply of these drugs because Catalent is a major supplier of fill completion work, which involves filling and packaging syringes and pens for Wegovy and Ozempic. Immediately after the deal closes, Novo Holdings will sell three Catalent sites to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion, giving the drugmaker a greater ability to meet soaring demand for its products.

“In the obesity arms race, capacity remains king, and the completion of this deal could significantly improve Novo’s ability to supply this growing market,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman wrote in a note on Friday. Novo highlighted last quarter that it still saw no issues with patient demand and that capacity per dose was a key bottleneck to growth in its GLP-1 franchise. “

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, specifically said the deal did not pose a considerable competitive threat. The committee said pharmaceutical companies still have access to several alternative manufacturers of prefilled syringes and orally disintegrating tablets.

The Commission insisted that “the transaction will not result in customers lacking alternative sources of supply for Catalent,” noting that “there is sufficient spare capacity in the market.”

Rival drugmakers have delayed the deal.

Earlier this year, Eli Lilly and Company Since the company is Novo Nordisk’s main competitor in weight-loss drugs, it was the first to suggest it could cause problems. In August, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks also told analysts that the company relied on a Catalent plant for some production, but “what’s even weirder is that your main competitor is also your contract manufacturing business and how to resolve this situation.

RocheChief Executive Thomas Schinecker also said in a media call in October that the Catalent deal would not affect the company but “could cause problems for other smaller companies.” He said it was “not a good idea” to limit competition in the weight-loss drug segment that Roche is racing to join.

Also in October, a coalition of more than 10 unions, public interest organizations and consumer groups sent a letter to FTC Commissioner Lina Khan urging her to “challenge this deal” and ensure that “competition is protected from protection, consumers will have full access to treatment.”

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Nearly 80 Nobel laureates in chemistry, medicine, economics and physics signed a letter on Monday encouraging the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health and human services secretary.

President-elect Trump Kennedy was announced as the nominee for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last month, after saying in October that he would be “health-crazy.” Kennedy briefly ran for president as an independent candidate and previously promoted misinformation and conspiracy theories on the following issues: vaccineCovid-19 and autism, among others.

If the Senate confirms Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, he would oversee 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 a letter obtained by CNBC on Monday, the Nobel laureates said they “strongly urge” senators to vote against Kennedy’s confirmation. new york times first reported This letter.

“In addition to his lack of medical, scientific, public health or administrative credentials or relevant experience, Mr. Kennedy has consistently opposed many vaccines that protect health and save lives,” the letter said.

“Given his record, putting Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put public health at risk and undermine America’s global leadership in health sciences in both the public and commercial sectors,” the report said.

Signatories of the letter include 31 Nobel laureates in medicine, 18 laureates in physics, 17 laureates in chemistry and 11 laureates in economics. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun receive this year’s Medicine Prize for their research Discovery of MicroRNAsigned the letter. Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson for their work on how mechanism Affecting the prosperity of the country, he also signed this letter.

The full text is as follows:

December 9, 2024

To Members of the United States Senate:

We, the undersigned Nobel laureates, are writing to request that you object to 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 federal agencies that protect the health of American citizens and conduct medical research that benefits our nation and humanity has been widely criticized on many fronts. In addition to his lack of medical, scientific, public health or administrative credentials or relevant experience, Mr. Kennedy has consistently opposed many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines, such as those to prevent measles and polio; the established positive impact of drinking water fluoridation critics; promoters of conspiracy theories about highly successful treatments for AIDS and other diseases; and fierce critics of respected institutions, particularly the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health. DHHS leaders should continue to nurture and improve—not threaten—these important and respected institutions and their employees.

Given his record, putting Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put the public’s health at risk and undermine America’s global leadership in health sciences across the public and commercial sectors.

We strongly urge you to vote against his confirmation as Secretary of DHHS.

77 Nobel Prize winners in medicine, chemistry, physics and economics

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