Tag: Merger

Pharmaceutical company Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc., the maker of Dramamine, agreed to divest assets and marketing rights for the over-the-counter motion sickness drug Bonine to settle FTC charges that Prestige’s proposed acquisition of Insight Pharmaceuticals Corporation would likely be anticompetitive. Prestige proposed to acquire Insight for $750 million. According to the FTC’s complaint, Prestige’s Dramamine, which is the best-selling branded product in the market for over-the-counter motion-sickness drugs, and Insight’s Bonine, are the only two branded products with significant sales. Absent a remedy, the acquisition would eliminate the close competition between Dramamine and Bonine, likely leading to higher prices for consumers.

Akorn, Inc. has agreed to sell its rights to develop, manufacture, and market the generic injectable tuberculosis drug, rifampin, in order to settle FTC charges that Akorn’s proposed acquisition of VersaPharm Inc. and its parent company, VPI Holdings Corp., would likely be anticompetitive. According to the FTC’s complaint, only VersaPharm and two other firms currently have FDA approval to sell generic injectable rifampin and there are no viable substitutes for rifampin as a course of treatment for tuberculosis. The FTC’s proposed settlement with Akorn requires the company to divest its Abbreviated New Drug Application for generic injectable rifampin – which is currently pending before the Food and Drug Administration – to Watson Laboratories, Inc.

Pharmaceutical companies Actavis plc and Forest Laboratories, Inc. agreed to sell or relinquish their rights to four generic pharmaceuticals that treat hypertension, angina, cirrhosis, and prevent seizures to settle FTC charges that Actavis’s acquisition of Forest likely would be anticompetitive. According to the FTC’s complaint, Actavis’s acquisition of Forest, as originally proposed, would violate federal antitrust laws by reducing competition in the markets for three current generic products. In addition, the FTC’s complaint also alleges that the proposed transaction would delay the introduction of another generic drug. Under the proposed FTC settlement order, the companies have agreed to relinquish their rights to market generic diltiazem hydrochloride (AB4) to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.; sell generic ursodiol and generic lamotrigine ODT to Impax Laboratories, Inc.; and sell generic propranolol hydrochloride to Catalent Pharma Solutions, Inc. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Actavis and Forest must ensure the viability, marketability, and competitiveness of the drugs that are
being divested until they are sold.

Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. agreed to sell its Advantage Rent A Car business, as well as the rights to operate 29 Dollar Thrifty on-airport locations around the country, to settle charges that Hertz’s $2.3 billion acquisition of Dollar Thrifty would have been harmed competition in 72 airport markets throughout the United States.