Under the leadership of Lina Khan, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stepped up its enforcement actions, complicating its clearances of mergers, including Amgen’s acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, which concluded in early October. Most recently, FTC has challenged what it deems are “improper” patent listings. At the receiving end of the FTC drug patent crackdown…
From FTC’s tightened grip to PULSE Coalition: A timeline of the life science M&A landscape
The biopharma industry is pushing back against increased scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). More than 30 biopharma companies and industry associations announced the formation of the Partnership for the U.S. Life Science Ecosystem (PULSE) to advocate for the role of M&A activity in the biopharma sector. A M&A landscape…
Biden administration’s antitrust campaign a concern for pharma
Last year, the Biden administration drafted an executive order that promoted competition in the U.S. economy across several industries, including pharma and biotech. The focus on the pharma industry was not surprising, given Biden’s campaign pledge to curb drug pricing. To that end, the Biden administration has explored a variety of approaches, according to Robin Adelstein, the…
FTC and DOJ staff eyes new ways to enforce antitrust laws in pharma
A two-day virtual workshop from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) mulled the current state of antitrust law enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry, discussing the role of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in driving up prices for consumers. “A competitively vibrant market protects access to existing drugs and promotes new…
FDA, FTC want to encourage competition in biologics market
The FDA and U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that they signed a joint statement to encourage collaboration in support of a robust marketplace for biological products, including the critical adoption of biosimilars and interchangeable products. The two agencies said the statement sets out to address false or misleading promotion about biosimilars within the…