
Sen. Elizabeth Warren urges FTC to 'scrutinize' two pharma buyouts
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is calling on senior Federal Trade Commission officials to “closely scrutinize” two proposed pharma mergers.
Warren expressed concern over “rampant consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry,” in particular Amgen’s $28 billion plans to take over Horizon Therapeutics, and Indivior’s proposed acquisition of Opiant for $145 million upfront, in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan and Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter earlier this week.
“Given these companies’ records of anti-competitive business practices, these acquisitions could cause further price increases on lifesaving drugs and prevent affordable alternatives from entering the market,” Warren wrote in the letter. “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should carefully scrutinize these deals and oppose any Big Pharma acquisition that will threaten competition, reduce innovation, or increase costs for American families.”
Amgen announced its deal with Horizon just last month, after Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen also expressed interest. With an Horizon acquisition, Amgen would bring on board two blockbuster drugs: Tepezza and Krystexxa, approved for thyroid eye disease and gout, respectively.
Meanwhile, Indivior struck a deal for Opiant — owner of the now-generic opioid overdose treatment Narcan — back in November worth $145 million upfront and $60 million in potential milestones. Opiant’s working on a next-gen nasal spray, a formulation of nalmefene, which has demonstrated promise in clinical trials to be as good as Narcan, according to the companies.
“These corporate deals are bad for patients: prices for drugs sold by acquired companies increase at a faster rate than those sold by their non-acquired counterparts,” Warren said.
The news comes weeks after Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Giovanni Caforio seeking more information on the company’s international tax practices amid “an investigation into how large pharmaceutical corporations headquartered in the United States are able to substantially lower their tax rates through the use of complex crossborder tax avoidance strategies.”
Wyden similarly targeted Amgen’s financials in December, and called on both Merck and Abbott to comply with his investigation into offshore tax schemes last summer.
“We disagree with Senator Warren’s characterization of Amgen and our planned acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. We have been working cooperatively with the Federal Trade Commission and remain confident there are no anti-competitive aspects of this transaction,” Amgen said in a statement to Endpoints News.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comment from Amgen.