By Foo Yun Chee and Maggie Fick
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators have requested pharma rivals and prospects for suggestions in 4 enterprise areas in gentle of Novo Holdings’ deliberate $16.5 billion takeover of Catalent (NYSE:), individuals aware of the matter stated.
Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NYSE:), whose earnings from blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy propelled it to turn out to be Europe’s most respected firm by market worth.
Whereas the questionnaire reveals the European Fee in search of to know the market, it might permit rivals and prospects to flag potential anti-competitive considerations.
The questionnaire seeks suggestions on vertical hyperlinks in components of the contract growth and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) trade, together with injectables, pre-filled syringes orally dissolved tablets, and comfortable gels, the sources stated.
The regulator distributed it to large pharma and CDMO corporations, the sources stated. This got here after Novo Holdings put in a request for EU approval for the deal on Oct. 31.
The EU watchdog has set a Dec. 6 deadline for its preliminary evaluation. Novo Holdings has till Nov. 29 to supply treatments throughout this part, if any are required.
European Union regulators can both clear the cope with or with out treatments, or open a full-scale, four-month investigation if they’ve severe considerations.
The $16.5 billion deal, introduced in February, underscores Novo Nordisk’s drive to spice up output of Wegovy, a once-weekly injection.
After the deal closes, Novo Holdings will promote three of Catalent’s fill-finish websites – in Italy, Belgium and the US – onto Novo Nordisk for $11 billion. The websites will then by absolutely utilized by Novo Nordisk for filling its injection pens.
Novo Holdings, Novo Nordisk and Catalent all not too long ago reiterated their expectations that the transaction will shut in direction of the top of this 12 months.
In Could, the businesses stated they’d acquired a second request from the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) for extra info on the deal. There was no replace from the FTC on its evaluation of the deal since then.
Novo Nordisk faces competitors from U.S. rival Eli Lilly (NYSE:)’s injection Zepbound within the fast-growing weight problems drug race. Some analysts have estimated the market could possibly be price as a lot as $150 billion by the early 2030s.
U.S-based Catalent, one of many world’s largest contract producers, made an enormous windfall in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic because it was contracted to assist make vaccines by a number of corporations.
However the firm confronted a spread of issues within the pandemic’s aftermath, as COVID-vaccine income fell and its prices elevated because of actions to handle high quality management lapses recognized throughout inspections by U.S. drug regulators at three crops.
