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29 March 2017Americas

FTC hails M&A activity in ‘historic’ 2016

Last year was a historic one for the US Federal Trade Commission, according to its “ Annual Highlights” report, issued yesterday.

The report outlined its 2016 enforcement efforts across healthcare, technology and other consumer products and services areas.

Maureen Ohlhausen, acting chairman at the FTC, said: “2016 was a historic year for the FTC. We obtained almost $12 billion in redress for consumers, and took action in more than a dozen merger cases to preserve competition.”

In July last year, the commission ordered the largest divestiture in a pharmaceutical merger when Teva agreed to sell assets related to 79 products in order to acquire part of Allergan.

LSIPR reported in September that the FTC had approved a final order that Teva’s acquisition of Allergan’s generic pharmaceutical business for $40.5 billion would be anti-competitive.

The commission also announced settlements in four other mergers involving pharmaceutical products, including generic drugs to treat colitis and epilepsy, several generic injectable drugs, and animal vaccines.

In December, the FTC put conditions on Abbott Laboratories’ proposed $25 billion acquisition of medical device maker St Jude Medical.

After a public comment period, the FTC found that the acquisition would probably be anti-competitive and ordered the companies to divest all rights and assets regarding their anti-competitive business to Terumo Corporation, a Tokyo-based medical device maker.

According to the report, the commission has also continued to challenge anti-competitive reverse payment agreements between branded and generic pharmaceutical companies.

This was after a favourable ruling from the US Supreme Court in FTC v Actavis supported the agency’s antitrust enforcement in this area.

The FTC brought its first case challenging an agreement not to market an authorised generic as a form of reverse payment..

In a suit filed in federal court, the FTC claimed that Endo Pharmaceuticals and other drug companies had violated competition laws by agreeing to pay-for-delay settlements surrounding the launch of generic versions of two drugs.


More on this story

Americas
24 February 2017   The Federal Trade Commission has found after a public comment period that Abbott Laboratories’ $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical would probably be anti-competitive.
Americas
16 September 2016   The US Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order that Teva’s acquisition of Allergan’s generic pharmaceutical business for $40.5 billion would be anticompetitive.

More on this story

Americas
24 February 2017   The Federal Trade Commission has found after a public comment period that Abbott Laboratories’ $25 billion acquisition of St. Jude Medical would probably be anti-competitive.
Americas
16 September 2016   The US Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order that Teva’s acquisition of Allergan’s generic pharmaceutical business for $40.5 billion would be anticompetitive.