Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder in Novo Nordisk, has signed a $16.5bn deal to acquire US-based medicines manufacturer Catalent, in a deal that will bolster the Danish drugmaker’s supply chain.
As part of the deal announced on Monday, Novo Holdings will sell three of Catalent’s 50 sites to Novo Nordisk, after the company struggled to meet demand for its popular drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy.
Catalent offers services including “fill finish” operations, the final stage in manufacturing drugs. Novo Nordisk said in January that Catalent’s Indiana site had been filling syringes for its Wegovy weight loss drug.
Novo Holdings owns 28 per cent of the shares in Novo Nordisk but has 77 per cent of the voting rights.