After months of legal sparring, Amgen and Horizon Therapeutics settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission that will allow the company to proceed with their planned $28 billion merger.
The agreement comes after the agency challenged the deal over concerns the combined company could abuse its power to entrench the monopolies for two drugs currently sold by Horizon. Although the FTC has signaled a more aggressive approach to reviewing mergers, its move in this case prompted concerns that pharmaceutical industry deals might face stiffer hurdles.
Regulators were concerned about a practice known as bundling. Simply put, a drug company combines two or more medicines in a package deal for health plans and pharmacy benefit managers, which determine lists of medicines that are covered by insurance. The practice has previously sparked concerns that a drug company will unfairly offer higher rebates for bundles in order to win favorable placement.