FTC sues to block Amgen acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics
NAME_1 NAME_2-5 minutes 5/16/2023
FTC sues to block Amgen acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday filed a lawsuit seeking to block drug giant Amgen’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, arguing that the deal would “stifle competition” in the pharmaceutical industry.

The FTC said that the deal would allow Amgen to “entrench the monopoly positions” of two of Horizon’s fast-growing medications: the thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza, and Krystexxa, which is a gout medicine

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Specifically, the agency said, Amgen would be able to offer rebates on its existing drugs to pressure insurers and pharmacy benefit managers into favoring the two Horizon products, a strategy known as “cross-market bundling.”

The FTC claimed California-based Amgen has a history of leveraging its drug portfolio to gain advantages over potential rivals.

The suit comes four months after Sen. NAME_3, a Massachusetts Democrat, in a letter to FTC Chairwoman NAME_4 asked the regulator to “heavily scrutinize” the acquisition, and the then-pending merger of Indivior and Opian, which she warned could lead to higher prices.

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“Today’s action – the FTC’s first challenge to a pharmaceutical merger in recent memory – sends a clear signal to the market: The FTC won’t hesitate to challenge mergers that enable pharmaceutical conglomerates to entrench their monopolies at the expense of consumers and fair competition,” said NAME_6, agency’s bureau of competition director, in a statement.

Horizon’s share price closed 14% lower Tuesday. Amgen’s stock price ended down by more than 2%.

Amgen and Horizon, which is based in Ireland, in separate statements said that they believe they will be able to complete the deal by mid-December after responding to the lawsuit in court.

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Amgen said that it was “disappointed” by the FTC’s complaint, and that the company believes it has “overwhelmingly demonstrated” that the merger poses no competitive issues.

Amgen “remains committed to completing this acquisition, which will bring significant benefits to patients suffering from very serious rare diseases in the U.S. and around the world,” the company said.

The firm added it has been working “cooperatively” to answer questions raised by the FTC’s investigative staff over the past several months.

Horizon said it “does not and has no plans” to engage in cross-marketing 