Consumer groups ask FTC to block Novo Holdings-Catalent deal
Consumer groups and unions express competition concerns to FTC
Deal could limit options for competitors developing GLP-1 drugs
Concerns also raised about impact on gene therapy manufacturing
Adds Roche comment in paragraph 8
By Jody Godoy and Maggie Fick
NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) -U.S. consumer groups and two large labor unions urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday to block Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO, from acquiring contract drug manufacturer Catalent CTLT.N, saying the deal threatens competition in weight loss drugs and cutting-edge 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.
Last week, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, called on the FTC to look closely at the deal over similar concerns.
The deal could constrain options for competitors such as Amgen AMGN.O, Pfizer PFE.N, Roche ROG.S, and AstraZeneca AZN.L, 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 VKTX.O, Structure Therapeutics GPCR.O and Sun Pharma SUN.NS also have GLP-1 drugs in development and could be affected, the groups said.
A Novo Holdings spokesperson declined to comment.
A Viking spokesperson declined to comment. A Roche spokesperson declined to comment on the letter, but said that the drugmaker has secured near-term supplies for its clinical trials of the GLP-1 drugs it is developing. Roche plans to manage the scaling up of commercial production "by using a mix of in-house and external manufacturing", the spokesperson said.
The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
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, diabetes group Beta Cell 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.
Ten consumer groups had signed on to the letter on Thursday afternoon.
"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 SRPT.O, to produce its gene therapy Elevidys, and with Novartis NOVN.S, to produce its gene therapy Zolgensma. The Catalent facilities involved are separate from the three factories that Novo Holdings plans to sell on to Novo Nordisk.
Sarepta does do not anticipate any impact from the Catalent acquisition, spokesperson Tracy Sorrentino said on Thursday. Sarepta's contract with Catalent runs through 2028.
A Novartis spokesperson said on Thursday that Zolgensma is no longer manufactured at any Catalent facility.
Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Maggie Fick in London; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Sonali Paul and Tomasz Janowski
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إخلاء المسؤولية: تتيح كيانات XM Group خدمة تنفيذية فقط والدخول إلى منصة تداولنا عبر الإنترنت، مما يسمح للشخص بمشاهدة و/أو استخدام المحتوى المتاح على موقع الويب أو عن طريقه، وهذا المحتوى لا يراد به التغيير أو التوسع عن ذلك. يخضع هذا الدخول والاستخدام دائماً لما يلي: (1) الشروط والأحكام؛ (2) تحذيرات المخاطر؛ (3) إخلاء المسؤولية الكامل. لذلك يُقدم هذا المحتوى على أنه ليس أكثر من معلومات عامة. تحديداً، يرجى الانتباه إلى أن المحتوى المتاح على منصة تداولنا عبر الإنترنت ليس طلباً أو عرضاً لدخول أي معاملات في الأسواق المالية. التداول في أي سوق مالي به مخاطرة عالية برأس مالك.
جميع المواد المنشورة على منصة تداولنا مخصصة للأغراض التعليمية/المعلوماتية فقط ولا تحتوي - ولا ينبغي اعتبار أنها تحتوي - على نصائح أو توصيات مالية أو ضريبية أو تجارية، أو سجلاً لأسعار تداولنا، أو عرضاً أو طلباً لأي معاملة في أي صكوك مالية أو عروض ترويجية مالية لا داعي لها.
أي محتوى تابع للغير بالإضافة إلى المحتوى الذي أعدته XM، مثل الآراء، والأخبار، والأبحاث، والتحليلات والأسعار وغيرها من المعلومات أو روابط مواقع تابعة للغير وواردة في هذا الموقع تُقدم لك "كما هي"، كتعليق عام على السوق ولا تعتبر نصيحة استثمارية. يجب ألا يُفسر أي محتوى على أنه بحث استثماري، وأن تلاحظ وتقبل أن المحتوى غير مُعدٍ وفقاً للمتطلبات القانونية المصممة لتعزيز استقلالية البحث الاستثماري، وبالتالي، فهو بمثابة تواصل تسويقي بموجب القوانين واللوائح ذات الصلة. فضلاً تأكد من أنك قد قرأت وفهمت الإخطار بالبحوث الاستثمارية غير المستقلة والتحذير من مخاطر المعلومات السابقة، والذي يمكنك الاطلاع عليه هنا.
