Activist hedge fund Elliott Investment has acquired a stake in US drug manufacturer Catalent, after the New Jersey-headquartered, NYSE-listed company saw revenues plunge in the first quarter. Elliott is pushing for changes on Catalent’s board after Catalent’s Q1 fell 19%, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Catalent – which conducts outsourcing work for large pharmaceutical companies – had earlier delayed its results announcements three times and slashed its annual revenue forecast for the second time.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Catalent was contracted by several companies including AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna to fill vaccine vials at plants in Europe and the U.S.
The company, whose chief financial officer left the firm in April, recently disclosed it had delayed its cost-cutting plans and was taking steps to address quality control lapses identified during inspections by US drug regulators at three plants.
