Block Novo Holdings' USD16.5B Catalent acquisition: Consumer Groups Urge FTC over antitrust concerns
The deal could constrain options for competitors such as Amgen, Pfizer, Roche, and AstraZeneca , who are reportedly developing their own GLP 1 drugs.
New York: Five U.S. consumer groups and two major labor unions on Thursday urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to block the acquisition of Catalent, a contract drug manufacturer, by Novo Nordisk's controlling shareholder. They expressed concerns that the deal could harm competition in the markets for weight loss medications and innovative gene therapies.
U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and others expressed concerns in a letter to the FTC about the $16.5 billion deal, which Novo Holdings has said would boost supply of Wegovy, Novo's blockbuster GLP-1 injectable weight loss drug.
The deal could constrain options for competitors such as Amgen, Pfizer, Roche, and AstraZeneca , who are reportedly developing their own GLP-1 drugs, the groups said.
""Because of the proposed acquisition, there is a real question of whether these future rivals to Novo will be able to secure the expertise to bring the product to market and have available and qualified capacity to manufacture these products when they commercially launch," the groups said. Viking Therapeutics, Structure Therapeutics and Sun Pharma also have GLP-1 drugs in development and could be affected, the groups said.
According to the terms of the deal, Novo Holdings would sell three of Catalent's factories, where injection pens are filled in sterile conditions, in Italy, Belgium and the United States, on to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion.
Novo Nordisk has said it is committed to honoring existing contracts at the plants, and that it is not aware of any competitive GLP-1 products being manufactured for commercial sale at the three sites.
The groups, which included Consumer Action, Doctors for America and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union, also expressed concern that Novo Holding's ownership could affect Catalent's capacity to manufacture gene therapies.
AFSCME represents around 1.6 million public sector workers, and SEIU has around 2 million members who work in healthcare, the public sector and property services.
"The competitive concerns here go far beyond existing drugs. We believe the commission should look at the impact on future therapies including gene therapy," said David Balto, the antitrust lawyer who represents the groups and drafted the letter.
The letter mentioned Catalent's contracts with Sarepta Therapeutics, to produce its gene therapy Elevidys, and with Novartis, to produce its gene therapy Zolgensma. The Catalent facilities producing these therapies are separate from the three factories that Novo Holdings plans to sell on to Novo Nordisk.
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