Tag: Bureau of Competition

The Federal Trade Commission and a group of seven state enforcers filed a complaint in federal district court against Vyera Pharmaceuticals, LLC, alleging an elaborate anticompetitive scheme to preserve a monopoly for the life-saving drug, Daraprim. The Commission vote to issue the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed on Jan. 27, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In a Jan. 14, 2022 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Denise Cote found Shkreli’s conduct “egregious, deliberate, repetitive, long-running, and ultimately dangerous.” Judge Cote banned Shkreli for life from the pharmaceutical industry.

On January 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s ruling.

On October 13, 2026, the FTC and seven states asked a federal judge to hold “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli in contempt based on their allegations that he flagrantly and repeatedly violated a 2022 court order that banned him from the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2022, the FTC and twelve state partners filed a lawsuit against pesticide manufacturers Syngenta and Corteva, alleging that each defendant implemented a post-patent loyalty program that paid distributors to forgo buying competing generic products. 

Motions to Dismiss

Syngenta and Corteva each moved to dismiss the lawsuit. On January 12, 2024, the Court issued an opinion and order denying defendants’ motions to dismiss.

Corteva Settlement

On September 25, 2026, the FTC and state plaintiffs, together with Corteva, filed with the Court an agreed stipulated order settling the Corteva case. The stipulated order requires Corteva to dismantle its existing active-ingredient-based post-patent loyalty programs. For a period of ten years, Corteva is prohibited from conditioning payments or other benefits to a customer on that customer purchasing a high share of its requirements for a given pesticide active ingredient from Corteva or on limiting its purchases of generic equivalents, ending Corteva’s exclusionary conduct that has raised pesticide prices for farmers.

The stipulated order applies to all of Corteva’s post-patent active ingredients, and it applies to existing programs and future programs for the term of the stipulated order (10 years). 

If you have concerns about whether Corteva is complying with its obligations under the stipulated order, please contact Paul Frangie at (202) 326-2697 and pfrangie@ftc.gov, Kenneth Libby at 202-326-2694 and klibby@ftc.gov, or bccompliance@ftc.gov.

The Federal Trade Commission took action to resolve antitrust concerns arising from a stock purchase agreement between two of the largest firearm manufacturers, Beretta Holding S.A. (Beretta) and Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. (Ruger), by accepting a proposed consent order that prevents anticompetitive entanglements between the two companies.

Under the terms of the FTC’s proposed consent order, Beretta, a subsidiary of Upifra S.A., will be prohibited from appointing or nominating anyone to serve on Ruger’s board of directors unless that person is independent of Beretta.

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Henkel), the manufacturer of the industry-leading Loctite brand construction adhesives, from acquiring Loctite’s main competitor, Liquid Nails. The FTC alleges that the merger would eliminate fierce competition between Loctite and Liquid Nails, leading to higher prices, lower quality, and reduced innovation, all of which would be detrimental to American consumers.

On August 14, 2026, after a seven-day trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the FTC’s request for a permanent injunction to block Henkel’s proposed $725 million acquisition of Liquid Nails from private equity firm American Industrial Partners