EU antitrust regulators to rule on Novo’s Catalent buy by Dec. 6

By Foo Yun Chee and Maggie Fick

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) -EU antitrust regulators will decide by Dec. 6 whether to clear Novo Holdings’ acquisition of contract drug manufacturer Catalent (NYSE:CTLT), according to a filing on the European Commission website on Monday.

The controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) put in a request for EU approval for the deal on Oct. 31, the filing showed.

The EU antitrust regulators can either clear the deal with or without remedies, or it can open a full-scale four-month long investigation if it has serious concerns.

The acquisition, announced in February, underscores Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk’s push to boost output of its popular obesity drug Wegovy.

Novo Holdings, Novo Nordisk and Catalent have all recently reiterated their expectations that the transaction will close towards the end of this year. The three companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday morning.

In May, the companies said they had received a second request from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for more information on the deal. There has been no update from the FTC on its review of the deal since then.

Pharmaceuticals giant Roche said last month that regulators should block the deal on concerns that it could hit competition in the booming weight-loss drug industry. Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Novo’s main rival in the obesity and diabetes drug market, has also expressed worries.

The deal has also been criticised by U.S. consumer groups, who last month urged the FTC to block it, saying it threatens competition in the booming weight-loss drug industry. Last month, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the FTC to scrutinise the deal, saying it may give Novo Nordisk an unlawful advantage in obesity drugs.