Catalent to be acquired by Novo Nordisk parent for $16.5B to boost Wegovy supply

Somerset-based Catalent will be acquired by Novo Holdings to expand its capacity for popular weight-loss drug Wegovy for $11 billion. The Denmark-based company with North American headquarters in Plainsboro will also take on Catalent’s debt, taking the total enterprise value of the deal to $16.5 billion, according to a Monday announcement from the companies.

Novo Holdings then plans to sell three key facilities to Novo Nordisk, in which Novo Holdings has a controlling interest, shortly after the closing of the merger. These three sites are located in Anagni, Italy; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; and Brussels, Belgium.

The three sites employ more than 3,000 people and all have ongoing collaborations with Novo Nordisk.

Novo Nordisk’s strategy enables an expansion of the manufacturing capacity at scale and speed while providing future optionality and flexibility for Novo Nordisk’s existing supply network. The acquisition is expected to gradually increase Novo Nordisk’s filling capacity from 2026 and onwards.

“Over the past several years, Catalent has built a comprehensive end-to-end offering of services and capabilities to drive innovation in the healthcare system and improve patient outcomes,” Alessandro Maselli, president and chief executive officer of Catalent, said.

“This transaction is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to this mission, and I am incredibly excited for this next step in our journey. We look forward to benefiting from Novo Holdings’ significant resources to accelerate investment in our business and enhance key offerings as we continue to offer premium development and manufacturing solutions for pharma and biotech customers,” he added.

“The agreement to acquire the three Catalent manufacturing sites […] will enable us to serve significantly more people living with diabetes and obesity in the future,” Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, Novo Nordisk’s chief executive said.

“The acquisition complements the significant investments we are already doing in active pharmaceutical ingredients facilities, and the sites will provide strategic flexibility to our existing supply network,” he added.