Novo spends €10bn to make more Wegovy weight loss drugs

The new plants Novo Nordisk is buying to manufacture its Wegovy weight loss drug
are located in Indiana, Italy, and Belgium.

Novo Nordisk has agreed to buy three manufacturing plants for €10bn to help it meet surging demand for its obesity treatments.

Novo is buying the fill-finish sites from its main shareholder, Novo Holdings, which agreed to buy the owner of the assets, Catalent, in a deal with an enterprise value of around €15.3bn.  

Shares in US-based Catalent rose about 13%. Novo shares, which have been soaring alongside demand for its diabetes and weight-loss drugs, also rose on the news.

The deal for Catalent has the backing of Elliott Investment Management, the activist investor, which has a stake in the US company. The agreement is worth a 16.5% premium to Catalent’s market close last week, according to a statement. 

The new plants Novo Nordisk is buying are located in Indiana, Italy, and Belgium.

“It will enable us to serve significantly more people living with diabetes and obesity in the future,” Novo chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said. The three sites should increase Novo’s filling capacity for its in-demand diabetes and obesity drugs from 2026 onward, a spokeswoman said.

The Danish drugmaker has struggled to keep up with demand for its blockbuster drug Wegovy and late last year unveiled plans to invest in new production facilities in Denmark and France. 

Last week, Novo said it has more than doubled the number of Wegovy starter doses it’s shipping to the US, enabling more people to get on the treatment. The move enables an expansion of the manufacturing capacity at scale and speed while providing future optionality and flexibility, Novo said. 

Bloomberg