Bureau of Competition Statement Regarding the Announcement that Thoratec Corporation Will Not Proceed with Its Proposed Acquisition of HeartWare International

Following the Federal Trade Commission’s approval of a lawsuit to block the transaction, Thoratec Corporation today announced that it has abandoned its proposed $282 million acquisition of HeartWare International. The FTC’s complaint charged that the deal would be illegal because it would substantially reduce competition in the U.S. market for left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), […]

Statement by FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz on Adoption of the Pay for Delay Amendment to the Americas Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 by the House Energy and Commerce Committee

I commend the House Energy and Commerce Committee for adopting the Protecting Consumer Access to Generic Drugs Act (H.R.1706) as an amendment to the omnibus health reform legislation. If enacted into law, this measure will put an end to the sweetheart deals between brand and generic pharmaceutical companies that force consumers to wait –sometimes years– […]

FTC Approves Final Consent Order in Matter Concerning Kellogg Company

For Your Information July 31, 2009 Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved a final consent order in the matter of Kellogg Company and authorized the staff to provide responses to the commenters of record. The FTC’s complaint charged that Kellogg’s advertising claims touting a breakfast of Frosted Mini-Wheats as “clinically shown to […]

FTC Challenges Thoratec’s Proposed Acquisition of HeartWare International

The Federal Trade Commission has authorized a lawsuit to block Thoratec Corporation’s proposed $282 million acquisition of rival medical device maker HeartWare International, Inc., charging that the transaction would substantially reduce competition in the U.S. market for left ventricular devices (LVADs), a life-sustaining treatment for patients with advanced heart failure. Thoratec currently has a monopoly […]

Court Orders Internet Pagejackers to Return Ill-Gotten Gains

A federal court has held three Internet pagejackers in contempt and ordered them to return more than $555,,000 in ill-gotten gains for flouting a previous court order that barred them from deceptive business practices. At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire has ordered defendants […]

FTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rules to Protect Consumers of Debt Relief Services

In an ongoing effort to better protect financially distressed consumers, the Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on proposed rules to combat deceptive and abusive telemarketing of debt relief services – services that purportedly can reduce consumers’ credit card and other unsecured debt. In the Noticed of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) announced today, the Commission […]

FTC Announces Expanded Business Education Campaign on ‘Red Flags’ Rule

To assist small businesses and other entities, the Federal Trade Commission staff will redouble its efforts to educate them about compliance with the “Red Flags” Rule and ease compliance by providing additional resources and guidance to clarify whether businesses are covered by the Rule and what they must do to comply. To give creditors and […]

End of the Line for Financial Telemarketer Who Violated Do Not Call Rules

A financial services telemarketer who allegedly violated several requirements of the Federal Trade Commission’s Do Not Call Rule – from calling hundreds of thousands of consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry to failing to transmit accurate caller ID information – has settled the government’s charges and is banned from telemarketing to consumers for […]

Commission Seeks Public Comments on Vocational Schools Guides

The FTC is seeking public comments on its Private Vocational and Distance Education Schools Guides, commonly known as the Vocational Schools Guides, as part of its systematic review of agency guides and regulations. As detailed in the Federal Register notice announcing the review, the FTC issued the Guides in 1972 to advise businesses offering vocational […]

Be on the Alert for Bogus Cash for Clunkers Offers

Scam artists are trying to profit from the federal government’s new program that helps consumers buy or lease a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle. According to a new consumer alert from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, people should be on the lookout for so-called “cash for clunker” Web sites that ask for […]