US sues to block Amgen’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sued for blocking the $27.8 billion acquisition of pharmaceutical company Horizon Therapeutics by drugmaker Amgen, saying it would thwart competition in the drug industry.

The FTC said the deal would allow Amgen to use its large portfolio of top-selling drugs to pressure insurers and others to favor two Horizon drugs that have no competition. The agency’s commissioners voted 3 to 0 to approve the filing of the lawsuit.

The commission’s move is the most aggressive yet year alert that it would be more difficult when investigating pharmaceutical mergers. The agency has long forced merging companies to sell drugs that treat the same types of illnesses, but it’s much rarer for it to try to quash a merger altogether. This case is unusual because Amgen and Horizon do not sell competing products.

Holly Vedova, a senior commission official, said the agency’s lawsuit “sends a clear signal to the market: The FTC will not hesitate to challenge mergers that allow pharmaceutical conglomerates to entrench their monopolies at the expense of consumers.” and fair competition.”

Amgen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The merger, announced late last year, was poised to become one of the biggest pharmaceutical deals in recent years.

The FTC said the merger would allow Amgen to pressure insurers and the industry’s intermediaries, known as pharmacy benefit managers, to pay for two drugs that Horizon has a monopoly on. The two drugs treat an autoimmune disease known as thyroid eye disease and the inflammatory condition chronic refractory gout.