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US, EU and UK Antitrust Enforcers Form Pharma Monitoring Taskforce

AZ’s planned Alexion acquisition may be an early target

 
• By Sten Stovall

Antitrust regulators in the US, Europe and elsewhere say they will now collaborate on how to best assess pharmaceutical mergers, in a move that could restrict deals on grounds they excessively raise prices paid by consumers or dampen medical innovation. 

Competition Law
Aim is to identify ways to scrutinize Pharma deals more closely • Source: Shutterstock

AstraZeneca PLC’s proposed acquisition of Alexion could become the first test balloon for the newly announced international taskforce that anti-trust regulators in the US, Europe and the UK hope can curb M&A deals that threaten competition and restrict innovation in the medical field, analysts said.

Responding to the recent stream of pharmaceutical mergers, antitrust regulators and enforcement agencies from the US, Europe and the UK are forming a working group to better assess and understand...

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