Tag: Prescription Drugs

Under a settlement with th FTC, Mylan, Inc., and Agila Specialties Global Pte. Ltd and Agila Specialties Pvt. Ltd. (collectively, Agila)  divested 11 generic injectable drugs as a condition of allowing Mylan’s proposed acquisition of Agila from Strides Arcolab Ltd. (Strides). According to the complaint, in each of these 11 markets, Mylan and Agila are two of only a limited number of current or likely future competitors. The number of suppliers in generic pharmaceutical markets matters because prices generally decrease as the number of competing generic suppliers increases. In addition, the injectable generic products of concern are highly susceptible to supply disruptions caused by the inherent difficulties of producing sterile liquid drugs.

Under a settlement, the FTC required Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Actavis Inc. to sell the rights and assets to 18 drugs to Sandoz International GmbH and Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and relinquish the manufacturing and marketing rights to three others, to settle charges that Watson’s proposed $5.9 billion acquisition of Actavis would otherwise be anticompetitive.The settlement protects competition in the markets for 21 current and future generic drugs, used to treat a wide range of conditions ranging from hypertension and diabetes to anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The FTC required drug supplier Novartis AG to give up its marketing rights to four topical skin care medications, under a settlement resolving charges that Novartis' acquisition of pharmaceutical firm Fougera Holdings, Inc. would harm competition in the market for these topical drugs. The settlement order requires Novartis to end a marketing agreement that allows it to sell three topically-applied generic drugs and return all rights to a fourth generic drug in development to its manufacturer, Tolmar, Inc. According to the FTC's complaint, Novartis' acquisition of Fougera would violate Section 5 of the FTC Act and Section 7 of the Clayton Act by reducing competition in the generic drug markets for three skin care drugs: 1) generic calcipotriene topical solution, 2) generic lidocaine-prilocaine cream, and 3) generic metronidazole topical gel. The complaint also alleges that the acquisition would eliminate potential competition in the market for the sale of diclofenac sodium gel.

On 10/7/2011, the FTC required Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to sell the rights and assets related to a generic cancer pain drug and a generic muscle relaxant, as a condition of its proposed $6.8 billion acquisition of rival drug firm Cephalon, Inc. In addition, the proposed settlement requires Teva to enter into a supply agreement that will allow a competing firm to sell a generic version of Cephalon’s wakefulness drug Provigil in 2012. On 7/3/2012, the FTC issued its final order. The final amended FTC order resolving the charges requires Teva to sell the rights and assets related to a generic cancer pain drug and a generic muscle relaxant to Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc. It also requires Teva to enter into a supply agreement that will allow Par to sell a generic version of Cephalon's wakefulness drug Provigil in 2012.

On 7/26/2011, the Commission required generic drug manufacturers Perrigo Company and Paddock Laboratories, Inc. to sell six generic drugs under a proposed settlement resolving charges that Perrigo’s proposed $540 million acquisition of Paddock would be anticompetitive. The proposed settlement also contains provisions to ensure future competition in the market for generic testosterone gel product. On 6/26/2012, the FTC issued a modified final order that required the companies to sell six generic drugs to Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.