BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics, Policy & Law

FTC’s ‘aggressive’ new approach to pharma merger regulation will include biotech M&A

Multilateral group to assess ‘new approach’ to M&A

March 16, 2021 10:17 PM UTC

Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission will more aggressively investigate, and may block, proposed mergers of pharmaceutical companies. While mergers of large drug companies will be subject to intensified scrutiny, the commission will also put acquisitions of small- and medium-sized biotechs under the microscope.

The FTC isn’t contemplating overturning the biotech industry’s business model, which is predicated on larger companies acquiring smaller companies, but it is likely to create more friction around transactions that in the past have not faced substantial regulatory oversight. ...