FTC sues to block Amgen's $28 billion Horizon takeover
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The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sued to block pharma giant Amgen from buying rare disease drugmaker Horizon Therapeutics for $27.8 billion.
Why it matters: This is the first time in more than a decade that the FTC has sued to stop a big pharma merger, and reflects the Biden administration's expansive view of antitrust law.
- If completed, the deal would give Amgen access to the blockbuster thyroid eye disease drug Tepezza, which could help it offset possible revenue declines posed by competition to its arthritis drug Enbrel.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) previously argued that Amgen's history of raising the price of Enbrel is an "anticompetitive" reason for regulators to closely scrutinize the Horizon merger.
What they're saying: In its press release, the FTC said: "The proposed acquisition is the largest pharmaceutical transaction announced in 2022. Given how central protecting and growing Tepezza and Krystexxa monopoly revenues are to the deal valuation Amgen calculated for Horizon, Amgen has strong incentives post-acquisition to raise Tepezza and Krystexxa rivals’ barriers to entry or dissuade them from competing as aggressively if and when they gain FDA approval."
More, per Bloomberg: "In recent years, the [FTC] allowed drug industry mergers to move forward so long as the companies divested any overlapping treatments. Even then, it didn't often demand adjustments. A Bloomberg Law analysis found that the FTC imposed conditions on less than one-third of the 38 pharmaceutical deals valued at $10 billion or more between 2010 and 2021." — Bloomberg
[This story has been updated to include a link to the lawsuit.]
