Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Pharmaceutical companies’ settle FTC anticompetition claims, (Jan 31, 2014)
Organizations Mentioned:Endo Health Solutions, Inc.
By Jody Coultas, J.D.
Pharmaceutical companies Endo Health Sciences Inc. and Boca Life Science Holdings, LLC and Boca Pharmacal, LLC agreed to settle FTC charges that Endo’s acquisition of Boca would be anticompetitive (In the Matter of Endo Health Solutions Inc., January 29, 2014, Docket C-4430).
Boca is the exclusive marketer and distributor of four prescription multivitamin drop products, which are owned and manufactured by Sonar Products, Inc., and competes with Endo in the sale of these products. The FTC alleged that the proposed acquisition would cause U.S. consumers to pay significantly higher prices for these generic drugs and would eliminate one likely future entrant from a very limited pool of future entrants in each of the three other generic drug markets.
The proposed consent order requires Boca to return all of its rights to the four multivitamins to Sonar. It also requires Boca to continue distributing the four multivitamins for up to six months, to allow Sonar time to find a new marketing and distribution partner. Endo was required to sell all of its rights and interests in generic Bromfed-DM, generic Zamicet, and generic Vosol HC within 10 days of the acquisition. Endo and Boca must ensure the viability, marketability, and competitiveness of these three products until they are sold. Boca and Endo also must relinquish their rights to market and distribute four generic multivitamin fluoride drops for children and will sell three other generic drugs in development.
To ensure compliance, the FTC appointed Quantic Regulatory Services, LLC to act as an interim monitor until the divestitures were completed.
According to the FTC, the proposed settlement will preserve competition for four prescription generic multivitamin drop products given to children in the United States who do not have access to fluoridated water and preserve future competition for three generic drugs.
The agreement will be subject to public comment through March 3, 2014, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final.
News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews