A Vial Decision

We ascribe no malevolent or overtly political motive to the Federal Trade Commission's June 24 announcement that it would try to block Cytyc Corp. 's acquisition of Digene Corp. [See Deal] Nor is the decision impossible to understand given Digene's current position as the only maker of a molecular diagnostic test for human papilloma virus, the cause of cervical cancer, and Cytyc's dominance in liquid-based Pap testing (the specimen vial). Nonetheless, we find the stated FTC rationale against the deal, which caused these two innovators to walk away from it, philosophically troubling.