Novo Nordisk pours $11B to meet escalating demand for obesity drugs

Novo Nordisk will pay $11 billion upfront to buy three of Catalent’s fill-finish sites under a deal that values the contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) at $16.5 billion. The agreement comes as Novo Nordisk tries to satisfy surging demand for its GLP-1 products Wegovy and Ozempic.

The Danish drugmaker was forced to limit US supplies of some doses of Wegovy last year, and CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen recently said that demand for the obesity therapy is likely to outstrip supply “for quite some time.” Sales of the product surged 407% in 2023 to DKK 31.3 billion ($4.5 billion), while revenue from its diabetes drug Ozempic – which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy - climbed 60% to DKK 95.7 billion ($13.8 billion).

Gradually increasing capacity

Novo Nordisk suggested that the deal with Catalent will expand its manufacturing capacity at “scale and speed,” although it noted that its filling capabilities will only “gradually” increase from 2026 onwards. The sites, which specialise in the sterile filling of drugs and employ over 3000 staff, are located in Anagni,Italy, and Brussels, Belgium, as well as Bloomington, Indiana, in the US.

All three locations already have ongoing collaborations with Novo Nordisk, as well as with other drugmakers. The deal however means that the Brussels and Bloomington sites will transition to exclusively servicing Novo Nordisk. JP Morgan analysts suggested that this conversion to exclusive use by Novo Nordisk will help the company increase output of Wegovy faster than previously expected.

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