Report: FTC Temporarily Suspends Challenge to $27.8B Amgen-Horizon Merger

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According to a court filing, the Federal Trade Commission has temporarily suspended its challenge to Amgen and Horizon’s merger agreement, intending to withdraw the case from adjudication until Sept. 18. As reported by BioSpace, this will allow the FTC to consider other avenues of resolving the matter, including a settlement.

After Amgen first attempted to purchase Horizon last December, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to the FTC urging it to examine the deal, citing it as a threat to competition. After an initial lawsuit was filed in May, Amgen responded with a countersuit in July, contending efforts to block the deal as unconstitutional.

“The FTC seeks to have the ultimate merits of its case adjudicated in an administrative proceeding that is riddled with constitutional defects,” says the countersuit. “The FTC’s case is wholly novel and impossibly speculative.”

Reference: FTC Temporarily Withdraws Challenge to $27.8B Amgen-Horizon Deal. BioSpace. August 28, 2023. Accessed August 28, 2023. https://www.biospace.com/article/ftc-temporarily-withdraws-challenge-to-27-8b-amgen-horizon-deal/