STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about Novo buying Catalent, Amgen’s obesity drug, and more
The investment arm of Novo Nordisk’s parent foundation is buying Catalent, a contract development and manufacturing company with more than 50 sites globally.
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The investment arm of Novo Nordisk’s parent foundation is buying Catalent, a contract development and manufacturing company with more than 50 sites globally, in a $16.5 billion deal that will give Novo additional sites to boost production of its booming obesity and diabetes drugs, STAT writes. The move comes as Novo has seen exploding sales of Wegovy and its related diabetes drug Ozempic, but struggled to meet huge patient demand for the medicines. With the agreement, Novo will pick up Catalent sites that focus on filling drugs in Italy, Brussels, and Bloomington, Ind., all of which have been doing work for Novo.
Amgen is trying a unique strategy with its obesity drug candidate: testing whether it can wean patients toward lower or less frequent doses over time, STAT explains. Very early data hint that the Amgen drug candidate, called MariTide, may provide longer-lasting weight loss than highly popular obesity drugs on the market like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Amgen is already seeing if that means its drug could also be dosed differently from those other medicines, which are costly and expected to be taken consistently for life. The Amgen drug, a monoclonal antibody, already stands out because it is designed to be taken monthly, while Wegovy and Zepbound are taken weekly.
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