A view of the emblem of Novo Nordisk at the corporate’s office in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, March 8, 2024.
Tom Little | Reuters
A version of this text first appeared in CNBC’s Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the newest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.
Novo Nordisk just got a step closer to significantly improving supply for its blockbuster weight reduction drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic.
The Danish drugmaker’s parent company, Novo Holdings, got approval from European antitrust regulators last week to maneuver forward with its proposed $16.5 billion buyout of U.S.-based drug manufacturer Catalent – a deal that had raised concerns amongst each rival drugmakers and lawmakers.
That leaves the U.S. Federal Trade Commission because the last hurdle Novo Holdings needs to beat to cement the colossal deal, which it announced in February. Novo Holdings and Novo Nordisk said they expect the transaction to shut at the tip of the month.
Catalent is a lovely buyout goal for Novo Holdings, which owns 77% of the voting shares in Novo Nordisk.
The deal could boost availability of the drugs because Catalent is the primary supplier 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, making the drugmaker more equipped to match soaring demand for its products.
“Within the obesity arms race, capability stays king and the close of this deal could meaningfully speed up Novo’s ability to provide this growing market,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman wrote in a note on Friday. “Novo underscored last quarter that it continues to see no issues with patient demand, and with every dose spoken for, capability is the important thing bottleneck in the expansion of its GLP-1 franchises.”
The European Commission, the chief arm of the European Union, specifically said the transaction wouldn’t pose a substantial competitive threat. The commission said drugmakers will still have access to several alternative manufacturers of prefilled syringes and orally disintegrating tablets.
“The transaction wouldn’t result in customers lacking sources of supply alternative to Catalent,” the Commission maintained, noting that “there may be sufficient spare capability available in the market.”
Competing drugmakers have pushed back on the deal.
Earlier this 12 months, Eli Lilly was the primary to suggest it could pose issues for the reason that company is a key rival of Novo Nordisk in the load loss drug space. In August, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks also told analysts the corporate relies on one Catalent site for some production, but that “it’s more the oddity of your primary competitor being also your contract manufacturer and easy methods to resolve that situation.”
Roche‘s top executive Thomas Schinecker also said in a media call in October that the Catalent deal wouldn’t affect the corporate, but “could possibly be an issue for other smaller players.” He said limiting competition in the load loss drug space, which Roche is racing to affix, is “not an excellent idea.”
Also in October, a coalition of greater than 10 unions, public interest organizations and consumer groups wrote a letter to FTC Commissioner Lina Khan urging her to “challenge this transaction” and make sure that “competition is protected and that customers could 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 nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump attend a campaign event sponsored by conservative group Turning Point USA, in Duluth, Georgia, U.S., October 23, 2024.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
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 Donald Trump announced Kennedy as his HHS pick last month after saying in October that he would let him “go wild on health.” Kennedy, who briefly campaigned as an independent candidate within the presidential election, has previously promoted misinformation and conspiracy theories about topics like vaccines, Covid-19 and autism, amongst other things.
If the Senate confirms Kennedy to guide HHS, he could be chargeable for managing the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs and the National Institutes of Health.
Within the letter obtained by CNBC on Monday, the Nobel laureates said they “strongly urge” senators to vote against Kennedy’s appointment. The Latest York Times first reported the letter.
“Along with his lack of credentials 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.
“In view of his record, placing Mr. Kennedy answerable for DHHS would put the general public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership within the health sciences, in each the general public and business sectors,” it said.
The letter’s signatories include 31 Nobel laureates in medicine, 18 in physics, 17 in chemistry and 11 in economics. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, who won the award for medicine this 12 months for his or her discovery of microRNA, signed the letter. Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, who won the prize for economics this 12 months for his or her work on how institutions affect nations’ prosperity, also signed the letter.
Here’s the total text:
December ninth, 2024
To Members of america 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 answerable for the federal agencies chargeable for protecting the health of Americans and for conducting the medical research that advantages our country and the remaining of humanity has been widely criticized on multiple grounds. Along with his lack of credentials or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health, or administration, Mr. Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines, akin to people who prevent measles and polio; a critic of the well-established positive effects of fluoridation of drinking water; a 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 leader of DHHS should proceed to nurture and improve— not threaten—these necessary and highly respected institutions and their employees.
In view of his record, placing Mr. Kennedy answerable for DHHS would put the general public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership within the health sciences, in each the general public and business sectors.
We strongly urge you to vote against the confirmation of his appointment as Secretary of the DHHS.
77 Nobel Laureates in Medicine, Chemistry, Physics, and Economics
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