Roche/Spark Acquisition: First Gene Therapy Deal Clears FTC With No Divestiture

While the US Federal Trade Commission appears to be giving greater scrutiny to biopharma mergers, its clearance of Roche's acquisition of Spark Therapeutics Inc. shows that it remains focused on whether a transaction will harm competition. The outcome provides assurance that deals will go through if parties can demonstrate they can accommodate overlaps between existing and pipeline products.

The FTC announced on 16 December that it had closed its investigation of the Roche-Spark proposed deal following an "exhaustive, 10-month investigation" by its staff