COPENHAGEN, April 8 (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 ( CTLT )

, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Novo Nordisk Foundation said last month it had agreed to buy

Catalent ( CTLT ) to boost output of the weight-loss drug Wegovy. After

the deal closes, it would sell three of Catalent's ( CTLT ) 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.