FTC orders biggest ever divestiture in Teva Allergan deal

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order that Teva’s acquisition of Allergan’s generic pharmaceutical business for $40.5 billion would be anticompetitive.

As  previously reported in July, under the order Teva was required to divest the rights and assets related to 79 pharmaceutical products to 11 firms.

Among the divested products are anaesthetics, antibiotics, weight loss drugs and oral contraceptives.

The products will be distributed to Mayne Pharma, Impax Laboratories, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Cipla, Zydus Worldwide, Mikah Pharma, Perrigo Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Prasco and 3M Company.

The drug divestiture is the largest such order in an FTC pharmaceutical merger case.

Erez Vigodman, Teva CEO, said in July: “We are pleased to have received all of the requisite regulatory approvals for our acquisition of Actavis Generics [Allergan].”

Debbie Feinstein, director of the FTC’s bureau of competition, said in a  statement at the time: “Millions of Americans rely daily on generic drugs to treat a wide range of illnesses.”

She added: “The FTC’s settlement safeguards the competitive availability of these medications for patients across the country who depend on them.”

The FTC examined not only particular product overlaps, but also whether the combination between Teva and Allergan would result in other adverse consequences to competition.

In July, the FTC said in a  statement: “We concluded that the substantial divestitures required by the consent order resolve the competitive concerns resulting from the transaction.”