Amgen Fires Back Against FTC's Antitrust Suit
May 16 2023 - 12:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Dean Seal
Amgen is pushing back against the Federal Trade Commission's
effort to block its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon
Therapeutics, saying it has been working with the regulator for
months and that the deal doesn't pose any threats to
competition.
The biopharmaceutical giant said Tuesday that it is disappointed
with the FTC's decision to file a lawsuit that aims to prevent the
deal from closing. The FTC, which has rarely challenged mergers
involving drugmakers, has alleged in federal court that the
acquisition would allow Amgen to "entrench the monopoly positions"
of Horizon's eye and gout drugs.
Amgen said it would work with the court on a schedule that would
still allow the deal to close by the end of this year.
The company said there are no overlaps of concern between the
medicines that Amgen and Horizon each provide to treat different
diseases and patient populations. The FTC's concern that Amgen
might bundle those medicines at some point in the future is
"entirely speculative" and doesn't take into account the real-world
dynamics of providing medicines to patients, Amgen said.
"We committed that we would not bundle the Horizon products
raised as issues; however, the commission still decided to pursue
this path," the company said. "Furthermore, we are unaware of any
prior acquisition that has been blocked under a bundling
theory."
Horizon Therapeutics also fired back against the FTC's lawsuit
on Tuesday, saying it has no plans to bundle any of its
rare-disease medicines.
Amgen shares were down about 1% at $231.45 at noon ET, while
Horizon Therapeutics shares have fallen more than 15% to $95.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 16, 2023 12:19 ET (16:19 GMT)
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