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FTC’s Take On Two Pharma Mergers Shows Deals Can Clear Higher Hurdle

 
• By Brenda Sandburg

Pfizer’s acquisition of Arena without FTC intervention and Hikma’s acquisition of Custopharm with one product divestiture shows the commission is bound by anticompetitive facts of a deal. A more controversial merger may not get through, former FTC attorney says.

Hurdle
Pharma mergers are clearing higher FTC hurdles • Source: Alamy

The US Federal Trade Commission has indicated that biopharma mergers would have a tougher time clearing the agency. But it’s decision not to intervene in Pfizer Inc.’s $6.7bn acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its requirement for a single pipeline product divestiture as a condition of Hikma Pharmaceuticals plc’s acquisition of Custopharm, Inc. show that such deals can go through despite the agency’s closer scrutiny and consideration of broader anticompetitive factors.

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