A view of the Novo Nordisk logo at the company's office in Bagsvaerd, outside Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 8, 2024.
Little Tom | Reuters
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Nordisk has just moved one step closer to significantly improving the supply of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.
The Danish drugmaker's parent company, Novo Holdings, won approval from European antitrust regulators last week to move forward with its proposed $16.5 billion purchase of U.S. drugmaker Catalent, a deal that had raised concerns both between rival drug makers and lawmakers.
That leaves the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as the final hurdle Novo Holdings must clear to solidify the colossal deal, which it 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 acquisition target for Novo Holdings, which owns 77% of Novo Nordisk's voting shares.
The deal could increase availability of the drugs because Catalent is the main provider of fill-finish work, which involves filling and packaging syringes and injection pens for Wegovy and Ozempic. Novo Holdings will immediately sell three Catalent sites for $11 billion to Novo Nordisk after the deal closes, allowing the drugmaker to be better equipped to meet growing demand for its products.
“In the arms race against obesity, capacity remains king and closing this deal could significantly accelerate Novo's ability to supply this growing market,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman wrote in a note Friday. . “Novo stressed last quarter that it continues to see no issues with patient demand and that, with each dose ordered, capacity is the key bottleneck in the growth of its GLP-1 franchises.”
The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, specifically said the transaction would not pose a significant competitive threat. The commission said drug manufacturers will continue 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 said, noting that “there is sufficient excess capacity on the market.”
Competing drugmakers have rejected the deal.
At the beginning of this year, Eli Lilly was the first to suggest that it could pose problems since the company is a key rival to Novo Nordisk in the weight-loss drugs 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 the oddity of its biggest competitor being also its contract manufacturer and how to resolve that situation.”
RocheTop executive Thomas Schinecker also said at a news conference in October that the deal with Catalent would not affect the company, but “could be a problem for other smaller players.” He said limiting competition in the weight-loss drug space, which Roche is rushing to join, “is not a good idea.”
Also in October, a coalition of more than 10 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 that consumers have full access to treatments. “.
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Nobel Prize winners urge senators to oppose confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump attend a campaign event sponsored by the conservative group Turning Point USA, in Duluth, Georgia, US, on October 23, 2024.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
Nearly 80 Nobel laureates in chemistry, medicine, economics and physics signed a letter Monday encouraging the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Kennedy as his pick for HHS last month after saying in October that he would let him “go crazy with health.” Kennedy, who briefly campaigned as an independent candidate in the presidential election, previously promoted misinformation and conspiracy theories about topics such as vaccines, Covid-19 and autism, among others.
If Kennedy is confirmed by the Senate to lead 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 was the first to report on the letter.
“In addition to his lack of relevant credentials or experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration, Mr. Kennedy has opposed many health-protective and life-saving vaccines,” the letter said.
“Given his record, placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would jeopardize public health and undermine America's global leadership in the health sciences, both in the public and commercial sectors,” he said.
Among the signatories of the letter are 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 affect the prosperity of nations, also signed the letter.
Here is the full text:
December 9, 2024
To the members of the United States Senate:
We, the undersigned Nobel Laureates, write 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 place Mr. Kennedy in charge of 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 on multiple grounds. In addition to his lack of credentials or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration, Kennedy has opposed many health-protective and life-saving vaccines, such as those that prevent measles and polio; a critic of the well-established positive effects of drinking water fluoridation; promoter of conspiracy theories about remarkably successful treatments for AIDS and other diseases; and a belligerent critic of respected agencies (especially the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health). The DHHS leader must continue to encourage and enhance, not threaten, these important and highly respected institutions and their employees.
Given his record, placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would jeopardize public health and undermine America's global leadership in the health sciences, both in the public and commercial sectors.
We strongly urge you to vote against the confirmation of his appointment as Secretary of DHHS.
77 Nobel Prize winners in Medicine, Chemistry, Physics and Economics
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