Novo Nordisk parent to acquire Catalent

Novo Holdings, the Danish investment giant that also controls Novo Nordisk, has agreed to acquire Catalent, one of the largest US drug manufacturing contractors, for $16.5 billion. The deal could help Novo Nordisk boost production of its weight-loss drug Wegovy, which has become immensely popular since the US Food and Drug Administration approved it in June 2021. Novo Holdings expects to close the acquisition by the end of 2024, after which it will sell three of Catalent's sites-in Anagni, Italy; Bloomington, Indiana; and Brussels-to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion. That firm is trying to increase the supply of Wegovy and a similar diabetes drug, Ozempic. The drugs, which contain the active substance semaglutide, work by mimicking a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which reduces appetite and leads to weight loss.