While Novo Nordisk's acquisition of Catalent Inc. has been a hot topic of discussion triggering significant concerns among consumer and Union groups, sparking more controversy, CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has come forward against the deal saying it could affect competition in the weight-loss industry, Reuters reported.

It was last week, a coalition of unions, consumer advocacy, and public interest organizations urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oppose Novo Nordisk's proposed $16.5 billion acquisition of Catalent, citing concerns that the deal would harm competition in critical areas of the pharmaceutical industry.

Novo Nordisk is a Danish pharmaceutical giant and leader in sales of GLP-1 drugs that are used to treat obesity and diabetes and Catalent is one of the leading contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs).

Novo, currently holds 54% of the market share in North American market and Catalent operates 50 facilities globally that are critical for downstream companies engaged in the production of GLP- 1 injectables.  

Roche is the first drugmaker to come forward and reveal its stand in this issue.

"Limiting the competition in this space is not a good idea," Reuters quoted Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Roche as saying during a media call. "From an industry perspective, it would be a wrong decision by authorities."

Schinecker, revealed his opinion about the controversial acquisition during the release of Roche's third-quarter sales report on Wednesday.

"It could be a problem for other smaller players, if there is a restriction in how many (contract manufacturers) are available," he added later.

Meanwhile, Roche said that it will not be affected by the deal. "We are quite confident in the capacity we have. We have reserved capacity with other CMOs," head of Roche's pharmaceutical division, Teresa Graham, told Reuters.

According to the advocacy groups, the deal could affect Viking Therapeutics, Structure Therapeutics and Sun Pharma.

Schinecker, while talking later in an analyst call said that acquisition of CMOs will help companies to eliminate competition in the field.

While responding to Roche's CEO Schinecker's remarks, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Reuters that the company is planning to buy three manufacturing sites from Novo Holdings and that Catalent will be handling 50 sites independently.

The spokesperson added that even after the acquisition, all pharma and biotech companies will still get good access to contract manufacturing, including Catalent.

Novo Holdings told the news agency that Catalent will operate independently as a leading contract drug manufacturer.

Catalent, while stating that it wants to work closely with European and U.S. regulators, said that it is confident that the 'transaction is pro-competitive' and added that it is not aware of any 'competitive GLP-1 products' meant for commercial sale being produced at the three sites involved the acquisition deal.

Both the spokesperson and Catalent said, they were expecting to close the business deal by end of 2024.