From NBCUniversal:

Novo Nordisk’s parent company, Novo Holdings, is set to acquire drug manufacturer Catalent in a deal worth $16.5 billion. This acquisition aims to boost the supply of the popular weight loss injection Wegovy and diabetes shot Ozempic. Catalent is the main supplier of filling and packaging syringes and injection pens for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. Novo Nordisk will also buy three of Catalent’s manufacturing sites from Novo Holdings for $11 billion. The acquisition and broader deal to buy Catalent is expected to close at the end of 2024. Novo Nordisk expects the purchase to gradually increase its filling capacity starting in 2026. Shares of Novo Nordisk jumped almost 53% last year as Wegovy and Ozempic soared in popularity, resulting in shortages. The Catalent deal is the company’s latest effort to boost manufacturing capacity for its drugs. Under the terms of the deal, Novo Holdings will buy Catalent for $63.50 a share in cash, a premium of 16.5% to Catalent’s closing price on Friday. The deal also has the backing of activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has a stake in the U.S. company. Some of Catalent’s factories that manufacture Wegovy have been linked to regulatory problems in the past, including repeated breaches of U.S. sterile-safety rules and failure to perform required quality checks.



Read more: Novo Nordisk parent to buy Catalent to expand Wegovy supply