California, other states join FTC bid to block Amgen deal (updated)

Horizon Therapeutics

23/06/2023 24:00

(Adds Washington state attorney general comment in paragraph 3,
background)
    By David Shepardson
       WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The states of
California, New York, Illinois, Minnesota,  Washington and
Wisconsin have joined a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit
to stop Amgen's  AMGN.O  $27.8 billion deal to buy Horizon
Therapeutics  HZNP.O , according to a court filing on Thursday.
    Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said his state had
joined the lawsuit because "monopolies harm consumers" and the
merger could allow Amgen to "dominate" prescription drug
markets. 
        The group of six states filed an amended complaint
Thursday, joining the FTC which last month filed suit opposing
the deal because it would give Amgen "monopoly positions" for
medicines used to treat thyroid eye disease and chronic
refractory gout.
    "Amgen's proposed acquisition of Horizon is dangerous for
the future of medicine, dangerous for innovation and research,
and most importantly, dangerous for sick people in need of often
lifesaving drugs," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
    The FTC acquisition marks a change for the agency, which
previously had typically flagged therapeutic overlaps in
companies and waved deals through after requiring one of the
medicines to be divested. 
    Amgen said in a statement last month it was disappointed by
the FTC decision and it believed it had "overwhelmingly
demonstrated" that the deal had no legitimate competitive
issues.
        Amgen announced plans to buy Horizon in December, saying
that its rare disease drugs would offer it some protection from
the drug pricing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act,
which are aimed at drugs most widely used by the government's
Medicare health plan.
        The last major pharmaceutical deal approved by the FTC
was AstraZeneca's  AZN.L  $39 billion acquisition of Alexion
Pharma in April 2021, about two months before FTC Chair Lina
Khan was appointed by the Biden administration.

 (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))