On Thursday, consumer groups and two large unions in the USA urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block $Novo-Nordisk A/S (NVO.US)$ shareholder Novo Holdings' acquisition contract drug manufacturers $Catalent (CTLT.US)$ , stating that this trade threatens competition in the weight loss drug and cutting-edge gene therapy fields.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and other institutions expressed concerns in a letter to the FTC about this $16.5 billion deal. Novo Holdings stated that this deal will increase Novo Nordisk's supply of the blockbuster GLP-1 injectable weight loss drug, Wegovy.

Last week, U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, out of similar concerns, called on the FTC to closely monitor this deal.

These organizations stated that this trade may restrict the choices of competitors like Amgen, Pfizer, Roche, and Astrazeneca, who are reportedly developing their own GLP-1 drugs.

"Due to the proposed acquisition, a real issue is whether Novo Nordisk's future competitors will have access to the expertise needed to bring products to market, and have available, qualified production capacity when these products are ready for commercial production."

Viking Therapeutics, Sarepta Therapeutics, and Fosun Pharma are also developing GLP-1 drugs, which may be affected.

Novo Holdings spokesperson declined to comment, Viking Therapeutics spokesperson also declined to comment. Other companies did not immediately respond to comment requests.

According to the agreement terms, Novo Holdings has agreed to acquire Catalent for an enterprise value of USD 16.5 billion, while Novo Nordisk will acquire Catalent's three aseptic filling factories from Novo Holdings for USD 11 billion. These three factories specialize in aseptic filling of pharmaceuticals and are expected to gradually increase Novo Nordisk's filling capacity from 2026 onwards.

Novo Nordisk stated that the company is committed to fulfilling the existing contracts of the factories and is unaware of these three factories producing any competitive GLP-1 products for commercial sales.

These include groups such as the U.S. non-profit organization Consumer Action, Beta Cell Action, Doctors for America, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), expressing concerns that Novo Holdings' acquisition may affect Catalent's ability to produce gene therapies. AFSCME represents approximately 1.6 million public sector employees, while SEIU has around 2 million members working in healthcare, public sectors, and real estate services. On Thursday afternoon local time, ten consumer groups signed this letter.

According to reports, AFSCME represents about 1.6 million public sector employees, and SEIU has around 2 million members working in healthcare, public sectors, and real estate services. Thursday afternoon local time, ten consumer groups signed the letter.

Representing these organizations and drafting the letter is antitrust lawyer David Balto who said: "Concerns about competition go far beyond existing drugs. We believe the committee should study the impact on future therapies, including gene therapy."

The letter mentioned Catalent's production contract with Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT.US) for the gene therapy Elevidys, as well as the contract with Novartis AG (NVS.US) for producing its gene therapy Zolgensma. However, the Catalent factories involved are unrelated to the three factories Novo Holdings plans to sell to Novo Nordisk.

Sarepta spokesperson Tracy Sorrentino stated on Thursday that Sarepta expects the acquisition of Catalent to have no impact. Sarepta's contract with Catalent will continue until 2028.

Novartis AG spokespersons stated on Thursday that the company no longer produces Zolgensma at any Catalent facility.

Editor/Lambor