U.S. Sues to Block Amgen’s $27.8 Billion Takeover of Horizon Therapeutics
The News
The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sued to block the drug maker Amgen’s $27.8 billion acquisition of the pharmaceutical company Horizon Therapeutics, saying it would thwart competition in the drug industry.
The F.T.C. said the deal would allow Amgen to exploit a maneuver known as bundling, in which pharmaceutical companies take advantage of their large portfolios of drugs to offer discounts to insurers and others in exchange for favoring their products. The agency pointed to two expensive Horizon medications that lack competition, saying that bundling would entrench those monopolies.
The commission’s move is its most aggressive yet after years of signaling that it would be tougher in scrutinizing pharmaceutical mergers. Its commissioners voted 3 to 0 to approve filing the suit.
Holly Vedova, a senior commission official, said the agency’s lawsuit “sends a clear signal to the market: The F.T.C. won’t hesitate to challenge mergers that enable pharmaceutical conglomerates to entrench their monopolies at the expense of consumers and fair competition.”
Source: The New York Times
