Markets Wired

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved an amended final order settling charges that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.’s proposed acquisition of rival Cephalon, Inc. would have been anticompetitive in the markets for several current and future generic drugs. The final amended FTC order resolving the charges requires Teva to sell the rights and assets related to a generic cancer pain drug and a generic muscle relaxant to Par Pharmaceuticals, Inc. It also requires Teva to enter into a supply agreement that will allow Par to sell a generic version of Cephalon’s wakefulness drug Provigil in 2012, and contains additional terms detailed in a statement issued by Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein.

The Commission vote approving the amended final order and letters to members of the public who commented on it was 4-0-1, with Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen not participating. (FTC File No. 111-0166; the staff contact is Kari Wallace, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-3085; see press release dated October 7, 2011.)

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(FYI 22.2012.wpd)