The Global Competition Review recently published the third edition of the Guide to Life Sciences, a guide which examines the current state of the life sciences industry and provides practical and timely guidance for both practitioners and enforcers trying to navigate this high-stakes, fast-moving environment. Goodwin Antitrust & Competition co-chairs Andy Lacy and Arman Oruc, along with partner Elliot Silver and associate Charlie Stewart authored the chapter which focuses on continuing scrutiny over pharma by the FTC following an increase in killer acquisition enforcement.
The team concluded that large or significant transactions should expect heavy scrutiny from the agency, which will likely explore any conceivable theory of harm, even if novel or tenuous, to serve as a basis for a challenge and that transactions involving early-stage assets should also be prepared for agency questions, especially if there is an indication or mechanism of action overlap.