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DENMARK – Novo Holding the parent company of leading global healthcare company Novo Nordisk, has announced that it is acquiring Catalent for US$16.5B in a move aimed at expanding its manufacturing capabilities.
Catalent, Inc. is a global leader in enabling pharma, biotech, and consumer health partners to optimize product development, launch, and full life-cycle supply for patients around the world.
The New Jersey-based company with an employee workforce of more than 18,000 including 3,000 scientists says it helps accelerate over 1,500 partner programs and launch over 150 new products every year.
Novo Holding will receive all outstanding shares of Catalent, which generated US$4.3 billion in revenue in 2023, for US$63.50 per share in cash, reflecting a premium of 39.1% to the closing price of Catalent’s common stock on 28 August 2023.
In a 5 February press release, Novo expressed plans to complete the deal towards the end of this year, dependent on closing conditions, which include gaining approval from Catalent’s stockholders and securing necessary regulatory approvals.
The Catalent board unanimously advised Catalent stockholders to complete the merger.
Novo Holdings also outlined plans to sell three of Catalent’s fill-finish sites and related assets, acquired through the deal, to its subsidiary Novo Nordisk.
The three manufacturing sites in Italy, the US, and Belgium will be added to Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and obesity supply chain network. Novo Nordisk will pay $11bn upfront for the extra facilities.
Novo Nordisk has been consistently bulking its manufacturing operations in the last few years, following obesity and diabetes drug shortages in several countries.
For example, in December 2023, the Danish company announced the acquisition of Alkermes’ Irish manufacturing plant in a US$92.5m deal.
Before this, in November 2023, the pharma giant declared plans to expand its manufacturing facility in Chartres, France, to increase capacity for its GLP-1 products such as Ozempic (semaglutide).
Novo Nordisk has also invested in its obesity pipeline this year through a US$235m partnership with the Swiss biotech EraCal Therapeutics.
Novo Nordisk’s therapeutic pipeline currently contains ten diabetes therapies, including GLP-1 receptor agonists and insulin analogues. The company also has six obesity therapies in its portfolio.
The Catalent deal expands its capabilities further as it will give it access to flexible manufacturing platforms at over 50 global sites which reportedly supply approximately 70 billion doses of nearly 8,000 products annually.
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