Novo Nordisk parent refiles US application on Catalent deal

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The parent of Wegovy producer Novo Nordisk has refiled an application to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for approval of a $16.5 billion deal to buy manufacturing subcontractor Catalent, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Novo Nordisk Foundation said last month it had agreed to buy Catalent to boost output of the weight-loss drug Wegovy. After the deal closes, it would sell three of Catalent's fill-finish sites on to Novo Nordisk for $11 billion.

An application was submitted to U.S. anti-trust authorities on March 4. But "following informal discussions with the FTC staff", the company withdraw and filed a new application on April 2, a Catalent SEC filing dated April 3 showed.

A Novo Foundation spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the company "has resubmitted the application to give authorities more time".

Novo had said the deal was expected to be completed towards the end of 2024. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether that was still possible and also declined to comment on why the application had been refiled.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, writing by Stine Jacobsen; editing by Anna Ringstrom and Jason Neely)