Antitrust Trends in Technology, Life Sciences, and Healthcare

As we look back on 2024, one thing is clear: Antitrust enforcement in the technology sector continued at a steady pace, with global agencies showing no signs of relenting in their scrutiny of Big Tech companies. Perhaps most notably, artificial intelligence emerged as a central focus for antitrust authorities, who launched investigations into the rapidly evolving industry and began developing regulatory positions. These agencies grappled with complex questions around market power and jurisdiction as they worked to apply existing frameworks to generative AI technology and strategic partnerships that often defied traditional regulatory boundaries. Regulators have also pursued numerous high-profile antitrust cases against digital platforms for alleged anticompetitive practices while implementing significant new pieces of legislation. These included the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the DMCC Act), both representing major attempts at addressing competition concerns in the digital economy.

The last year (and particularly the last few months) of the Biden Administration brought a flurry of activity from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the life sciences space, continuing a yearslong pattern of close scrutiny and culminating most notably in the issuance of a complaint against the leading pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). It was not all bad news, however, as 2024 still featured several notable deal clearances, including the long-awaited approval of the Novo Holdings / Catalent deal and clearances of multiple transactions involving radiopharmaceutical, neurology, and obesity/diabetes assets.

In the second quarter, federal and state antitrust enforcers continued their intense scrutiny of consolidation in the healthcare market by implementing new initiatives and laws designed to gather additional information regarding transactions and conduct in the space.

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