The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have issued the final version of their updated merger guidelines for corporations, concluding a process that took a scant six months to complete following the issuance of the draft.
A threat to biopharma innovation arrived at a larger scale in 2023 in the form of greater U.S. FTC scrutiny, calling into question the legitimacy of certain M&As and deals.
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG reported it plans to buy Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center BV (DORC) from investment firm Eurazeo SE for approximately €985 million (US$1.08 billion).
After years of battling to retain its hold on Grail Inc., Illumina Inc. finally announced that it will be unwinding the ill-fated acquisition of the multi-cancer early detection test maker. In addition to stiff opposition from activist investor Carl Icahn that cost Illumina’s previous CEO and board chair their positions, European and U.S. regulators have consistently opposed the deal.
Acutus Medical Inc. revealed plans after the Nasdaq closing bell on Nov. 8 to abandon the electrophysiology business as part of a massive restructuring that will leave the company entirely committed to manufacturing and distribution of Medtronic plc’s left-heart access products. The shift will put 65% of Acutus employees out of work and leaves the future of its cardiac ablation and mapping products up in the air.
While biopharma dealmaking remains active, a strong third quarter (Q3) was not enough to bring it to the same level seen during each of the last three years, although values are coming close. At the same time, M&As appear to be rising above 2022, but even with the increase, they still lag behind other years. If the Pfizer Inc./Seagen Inc. merger, worth $43 billion, closes before the end of 2023, for example, M&As will still not come close to the overall value seen in 2019 and 2020.
While biopharma dealmaking remains active, a strong third quarter (Q3) was not enough to bring it to the same level seen during each of the last three years, although values are coming close. At the same time, M&As appear to be rising above 2022, but even with the increase, they still lag behind other years. If the Pfizer Inc./Seagen Inc. merger, worth $43 billion, closes before the end of 2023, for example, M&As will still not come close to the overall value seen in 2019 and 2020.
Management teams beset by angry activist investors may take some solace in Ernst & Young (EY)’s latest Pulse of the Industry report, which confirms what med-tech executives have said for the better part of two years. A post-COVID-19 slump combined with inflation and other unfavorable capital conditions have slammed the global med-tech industry back to earth with little likelihood of a return to the halcyon days of 2021 any time soon.
Biopharma companies and industry advocates received the message the U.S. FTC intended to send when it broke new antitrust ground earlier this year in challenging Amgen Inc.’s $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics plc. Now they’re uniting to send a message of their own – in the guise of an awareness campaign showing that the FTC’s new approach to M&A reviews and antitrust enforcement will undermine the ecosystem responsible for innovative and important therapies the world over.
Boston Scientific Corp.’s plan to acquire Relievant Medsystems Inc. is part of its ongoing effort to address chronic pain which is significantly impacting the quality of life of millions of people. Relievant’s Intracept intraosseous nerve ablation system will give Boston Scientific another tool in its armory to tackle chronic pain which already includes radiofrequency ablation (RFA) solutions and spinal cord stimulator (SCS) systems.
