Amgen’s FTC Settlement To Allow $27.8bn Horizon Deal Closure Sets New M&A Precedent

Amgen, Inc. entered into a nationwide settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission and six states that sought to block the company’s $27.8bn acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics plc, clearing the way for the two entities to close their transaction early in the fourth quarter of this year and giving big pharma buyers a new set of considerations to address when assessing potentials mergers and acquisitions.

The settlement announced on 1 September addresses the FTC’s concerns – first raised in a lawsuit the regulator filed in May – that Amgen would block competition for Horizon’s top-selling products Tepezza (teprotumumab) for thyroid eye disease and Krystexxa (pegloticase) for chronic refractory gout by negotiating rebates with payers that would be bundled together with rebates for other Amgen products