On March 6, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging GTCR BC Holdings, LLC's (GTCR) proposed acquisition of Surmodics, Inc. (Surmodics). The complaint alleges that the transaction...more
The last year (and particularly the last few months) of the Biden Administration brought a flurry of activity from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the life sciences space, continuing a yearslong pattern of close...more
2/21/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Sherman Act ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
On January 14, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued private equity giant KKR & Co. (KKR) for numerous violations of antitrust law, alleging that KKR repeatedly violated its obligations to provide information on its...more
1/17/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Compliance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Notice Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Private Equity ,
Threshold Requirements
In the second quarter, federal and state antitrust enforcers continued their intense scrutiny of consolidation in the healthcare market by implementing new initiatives and laws designed to gather additional information...more
9/20/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Conspiracies ,
Corporate Practice of Medicine ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Industry Consolidation ,
Market Participants ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Price Manipulation ,
Price-Fixing ,
Private Equity ,
Quality of Care Standards
To date, 2024 has not yet seen the type of mega-merger (Pfizer/Seagen) or level of agency enforcement (Sanofi/Maze or Amgen/Horizon) as 2023. But two notable investigations — one still active — show the Federal Trade...more
9/10/2024
/ AbbVie ,
Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Amgen ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Eli Lilly ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Orange Book ,
Patents ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Sanofi ,
Supply Chain ,
Vertical Mergers
Following a nine-week bench trial starting in September 2023 and closing arguments in May 2024, District of Columbia district court judge Amit Mehta ruled on August 5, 2024, that Google illegally maintained its monopoly in...more
8/15/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Amazon ,
Anticompetitive Agreements ,
Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Instagram ,
Mergers ,
Monopolization ,
Search Engines ,
Selective Distribution Agreements ,
Sherman Act ,
Web Browsers ,
WhatsApp
Antitrust actions significantly impacted the technology sector in 2023 and are poised to have substantial repercussions in the future, affecting both major tech companies and emerging enterprises. In addition to a focus on...more
2023 saw a significant uptick in antitrust scrutiny and enforcement, particularly in the healthcare space. After much rhetoric and a setback in challenging state Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) laws, the Federal Trade...more
3/12/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Firms
Despite increasingly aggressive rhetoric from the agencies, 2022 was largely characterized as “business as usual” in the antitrust world. In contrast, 2023 featured a significant step up in enforcement activity, including...more
2/23/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Amgen ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Clinical Trials ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
IP License ,
Life Sciences ,
Monopolization ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Sanofi
On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) (each an Agency, and collectively, the Agencies) released the final version of revised Merger Guidelines...more
The FTC’s Amgen/Horizon Lawsuit Ends With a Whimper -
We covered the FTC’s investigation into (and litigation challenging) Amgen’s $28.3 billion acquisition of rare disease specialist Horizon Therapeutics in our Q1 and...more
10/24/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Clinical Trials ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Settlement
Backing up its recent rhetoric, the FTC has filed suit against a private equity firm based on a “roll-up scheme” in the healthcare space. The FTC filed its complaint in federal district court in Texas, alleging that Welsh,...more
On August 16, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an agreement with natural gas producer EQT Corporation (EQT) and private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners (Quantum) to resolve concerns stemming from alleged...more
8/28/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Board of Directors ,
Competition ,
Consent Decrees ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Interlocking Directorate ,
Popular ,
Safe Harbors ,
Section 5 ,
Section 8 ,
Statutory Authority ,
The Clayton Act
Antitrust enforcers remained active across the globe, with the announcement by the FTC and DOJ of proposed guidelines that have an emphasis on tech mergers in the United States, and several investigations of major tech deals...more
8/25/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Adobe ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Broadcom ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Online Platforms ,
Popular ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Public Comment ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Vertical Mergers
The start of 2023 has been a busy one, with global antitrust agencies advancing investigations and challenging a number of technology acquisitions. Future antitrust enforcement could also be shaped by new digital market...more
6/15/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Adobe ,
Antitrust Division ,
Broadcom ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Divestiture ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Microsoft ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Remedies ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Our prior updates covered how FTC enforcement activity largely proceeded “as usual” during 2022 in the life sciences industry, with large pharmaceutical players buying or licensing promising, but still risky, assets from...more
5/25/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Amgen ,
Corporate Practice of Medicine ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular
Department of Justice Withdraws Long-Standing Antitrust Healthcare Policy Statements -
On February 2, 2023, the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the withdrawal of its support for three...more
5/24/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Amazon ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Appeals ,
Certificates of Public Advantage (COPAs) ,
Competition ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Practice of Medicine ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
No-Poaching ,
Policy Statement ,
Popular ,
Wage-Fixing
2022 saw a major uptick in antitrust scrutiny and enforcement, primarily related to vertical transactions by large technology companies. Meta/Within, Microsoft/Activision, and Broadcom/VMware (among others) faced resistance...more
2/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Broadcom ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Popular ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
M&A activity in the life sciences space proceeded largely as usual in 2022, with most transactions receiving expected levels of agency scrutiny and closing in the normal course despite aggressive rhetoric from new leadership...more
2/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Amgen ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biotechnology ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Novo Nordisk ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
Two major technology companies, Meta and Microsoft, continue to defend their acquisitions against challenges from antitrust regulators. The FTC dropped one of the two claims underlying its challenge of Meta’s acquisition of...more
11/10/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Popular ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The third quarter in the life sciences space showed that business is generally proceeding as usual, with large pharma players successfully acquiring or licensing in clinical stage assets without running into antitrust delays....more
11/10/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Bristol-Myers Squibb ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
GlaxoSmithKline ,
Health Technology ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Metadata ,
Mobile Apps ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Popular ,
Virtual Reality
In July 2022, the FTC brought an enforcement action to enjoin Meta’s acquisition of virtual reality app maker Within. The FTC’s approach in that complaint could have implications for Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of...more
8/16/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Amazon ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
App Developers ,
Big Tech ,
Broadcom ,
Facebook ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Google ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Microsoft ,
Mobile Apps ,
Popular ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Video Games ,
Virtual Reality
Although the second quarter did not feature any life sciences enforcement action by the FTC, there was plenty of news in and around the space. The FTC held a detailed “virtual workshop” as part of its pharmaceutical...more
On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden announced a broad executive order (the “Order”) intended to boost what it characterizes as stagnant competition across the U.S. economy. The Order, among other things, encourages the...more
7/15/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Biosimilars ,
Competition ,
Data Collection ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Hospitals ,
Joint Statements ,
Licensing Rules ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Online Marketplace ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Surveillance ,
Technology Sector ,
Unfair Competition ,
Vertical Mergers ,
Wage and Hour