U.S. FTC Clears Teva's Acquisition Of Barr, With Conditions
The FTC said the companies must sell the rights to manufacture and market generic drugs that treat acid reflux disease, bacterial infections, certain types of cancer, diabetes and depression.
Those rights will be divided between generic competitors Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI) and Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, the FTC said.
"Teva and Barr are direct and significant competitors for a large number of generic drugs that many Americans use on a daily basis," David Wales, the chief competition enforcer at the FTC, said in a statement. "The commission's action taken today will ensure that the markets for these vital drugs remain competitive and consumers are not forced to pay higher prices, or even forgo treatment, as a result of this deal."
The companies said in a press release that they accepted the terms of the FTC's proposal and expected to close the merger on Dec. 23.
Israel-based Teva and New Jersey-based Barr said the U.S. divestitures affect 16 on-market drugs where they have overlapping products. Those drugs represent $60 million in annual sales, the companies said. They also said their concessions to the FTC involve another 13 pipeline generic drugs.
The Teva-Barr deal received antirust approval from the European Commission Friday as well. Antitrust regulators there also required concessions. The European Commission said the companies agreed to divest 15 cancer drugs in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, as well as two other drugs in Poland.
- By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222; brent.kendall@dowjones.com
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Publié le 19 Décembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones
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