Arman Oruc

Arman Oruc is co-chair of Goodwin’s Antitrust and Competition practice. He specializes in antitrust related issues, including regulatory clearance and approval of mergers and acquisitions, government investigations, antitrust litigation, and antitrust risks associated with strategic business practices. Arman was most recently part of the founding team of a life sciences company, helping grow the start-up into a late-stage clinical platform company. Prior to his involvement in life sciences, Arman was a partner at a major New York firm where he lead the establishment of the firm’s Washington, DC office in 2005. 

Arman has advised on antitrust issues associated with countless consummated and proposed transactions for private equity and public company clients. He has shepherded transactions through the FTC, DOJ, and competition authorities outside of the US. His litigation experience includes single company monopolization cases, allegations of abuse of intellectual property, standard setting activities, foreclosure allegations, as well as successful amnesty applications in cartel investigations.

Representative antitrust litigation matters in the last three years include:

• Rainmaker, developer of revenue management and pricing software, in antitrust litigation alleging that the use of the software by hotel operators lead to price fixing
• A real estate company in antitrust litigation alleging that pricing algorithm software used by muti-family residential building owners and operators lead to price-fixing
• BNP Paribas in antitrust litigations alleging that a number of banks unlawfully excluded nascent competitors in the interest rate swap and collateralized debt swap markets
• Nimbus Therapeutics in its antitrust litigation against Celgene and Bristol Myers Squibb to enjoin their attempted acquisition of sale of Nimbus’s Allosteric Tyk2 Inhibitor Program, and the subsequent sale of the program to Takeda for $6 billion
• A leading company in the fashion industry in multi-jurisdictional cartel investigation

Representative FTC and DOJ investigations in the last three years:

• Human Immunology Biosciences in its $1.15 billion proposed acquisition by Biogen
• Proteologix in its $850 million proposed acquisition by Johnson & Johnson, with potential for an additional milestone payment
• Mariana Oncology in its acquisition by Novartis for $1 billion upfront and up to $750 million in milestones
• KBP Biosciences in its sale of ocedurenone to Novo Nordisk for up to $1.3 billion
• Versanis Bio and its obesity asset in the acquisition by Eli Lilly for up to $1.925 billion
• Inversago Pharma and its obesity asset in the acquisition by Novo Nordisk for $1.07 billion
• Deliverr in its sale to Shopify for $2.1 billion
• EQRx in its acquisition by Revolution Medicines
• Flagship Pioneering in its investment in Evelo Biosciences
• Surface Oncology in its acquisition by Coherus BioSciences
• Haystack Oncology in its acquisition by Quest Diagnostics
• TCR² Therapeutics in its acquisition by Adaptimmune Therapeutics
• Moderna its strategic collaboration with Generation Bio to develop non-viral genetic therapies
• Concert Pharmaceuticals in its acquisition by Sun Pharmaceutical for $576 million and contingent value rights
• Webster Equity Partners in its three concurrent transactions in Corium Pharma Solutions, Corium Therapeutics and Radius Health
• Forma Therapeutics on its acquisition by Novo Nordisk for $1.1 billion
• Orna Therapeutics in its license and collaboration agreement with Merck
• Checkmate Pharmaceuticals in its sale to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for approximately $250 million
• Citrix Systems in its definitive agreement under which affiliates of Vista Equity Partners, and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management L.P., will acquire Citrix for $16.5 billion
• BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. in its acquisition by Collegium Pharmaceutical for $604 million
• Ampersand Capital Partners in its sale of Nexelis Group, Inc. to Q2 Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of IQVIA, Inc.
• Trillium Therapeutics in its sale to Pfizer for $2.26 billion

Past litigation matters include:

• Successful amnesty application with the DOJ for Japanese automobile light maker*
• Kintetsu Worldwide in numerous antitrust investigations and civil litigations*
• Co-counsel for Weyerhaeuser in the seminal monopsonization litigations*
• Lead counsel for Staples in antitrust litigations and government investigations related to product design and strategy issues surrounding private label ink cartridges compatible with HP-branded printers*
• Lead counsel for Ericsson in a Sherman Act challenge brought by “positioning” technology company whose technology was excluded from the 4G standard*
• Lead antitrust counsel to the standard-setting organization through the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray technologies*
• Represented MasterCard in numerous antitrust litigations against the DOJ, American Express, Discover and Visa*

*Denotes experience prior to joining Goodwin.

Arman serves on Law360’s Editorial Advisory Board for Life Sciences.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Arman was part of the founding team of Biosplice Therapeutics Inc. where he served as the Chief Legal Officer and a member of the Board. Prior to Biosplice, Arman practiced as an antitrust lawyer for seventeen years during which he helped launch Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Washington, D.C. office and expand the firm’s merger review and antitrust litigation practices.

In 2023, Arman was recognized by JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards for his thought leadership in Antitrust & Trade Regulation.

Arman has been selected for inclusion in The Legal 500 US 2023 and 2024 where clients note that he “is a first class antitrust lawyer” who is “measured in his communication, has a strong understanding of the big picture, logically designs and articulates his case, and can go deep into the clinical science to support his legal case.” In 2022 and 2023, Arman was recognized by LMG Life Sciences as a “Life Sciences Star” for Antitrust. 

Publications

Arman co-authors Goodwin’s Antitrust Trends in Technology, Life Sciences, and Healthcare Quarterly Newsletters, which provides analysis and commentary on antitrust developments in those industries. Additionally, his publications include:

• Co-author, “United States: DOJ and FTC to Shift Focus to AI as Stringent Merger Enforcement Chills Tech Deals,” Global Competition Review’s Digital Markets Guide, October 2, 2024
• Co-Author, “United States: FTC Pharma Scrutiny Expected to Continue Following Step Up in Killer Acquisition Enforcement,” Global Competition Review’s The Guide to Life Sciences, August 14, 2024
• Co-Author, “District Court Grants Welsh Carson’s Motion to Dismiss in FTC’s “Roll-Up” Monopolization Case; Case Against U.S. Anesthesia Partners Continues,” Goodwin Client Alert, May 15, 2024
• Co-Author, “FTC and DOJ Launch New Cross-Government Inquiry on the Role of Private Equity in Healthcare,” Goodwin Client Alert, March 7, 2024
• Co-Author, “US Antitrust Agencies Release Final Revised Merger Guidelines,” Goodwin Client Alert, December 19, 2023
• Co-Author, “Sanofi Drops Maze Licensing Deal After FTC Challenge,” Goodwin Client Alert, December 12, 2023
• Co-Author, “United States: Trends of Agency Scrutiny on Pharmaceutical Transactions Expected to Shift Amid Rise in Deal Activity,” Global Competition Review’s The Guide to Life Sciences, November 2, 2023
• Co-Author, “FTC Sues Private Equity Firm Welsh Carson and U.S. Anesthesia Partners Over Alleged Anesthesiology “Roll-Up Scheme” in Texas,” Goodwin Client Alert, September 22, 2023
• Co-Author, “US Antitrust Regulators Continue to Crack Down on Interlocking Directorates, and the FTC Expands Scope of Clayton Act to Noncorporate Entities,” Goodwin Client Alert, August 25, 2023
• Co-Author, “US Antitrust Agencies Release Revised Draft Merger Guidelines,” Goodwin Client Alert, July 20, 2023
• Co-Author, “FTC and DOJ Propose Major Changes to HSR Form and Disclosure,” Goodwin Client Alert, June 28, 2023
• Quoted, “DOJ official: private equity HSR compliance poses existential threat to enforcement,” Global Competition Group, February 3, 2023
• Quoted, “FTC to Crack Down on Serial Acquisitions,” The Deal, November 11, 2022
• Quoted, “The FTC and DOJ have vowed to scrutinize private equity deals. Here’s what it means for healthcare,” FierceHealthcare, October 21, 2022
• Co-Author, “United States: FTC Looks Set to Open up New Enforcement Front,” Global Competition Review, October 21, 2022
• Quoted, “Pharma dealmaking hit by greater scrutiny of prices and competition,” Financial Times, February 28, 2022
• Quoted, “Illumina says EU probe of $8bn Grail deal could hit biotech investment,” Financial Times, January 16, 2022

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, KPMG Life Sciences M&A Roundtable, September 26, 2024
• Speaker, “Avoiding Antitrust Pitfalls: Practical Pointers for Public Companies,” Goodwin Webinar, July 24, 2024
• Speaker, “Antitrust West Coast 2024 Conference,” Informa Connect, May 3, 2024
• Speaker, “The New Rules of U.S. Merger Control: Effectively Navigating Changes to the Merger Guidelines and HSR Process,” Goodwin CLE Day Webinar Series, January 18, 2024
• Podcast Guest, “Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast,” Bloomberg, September 20, 2023
• Speaker, “Mergers: Private equity in the spotlight,” GCR Live: Law Leaders Global 2023, February 1, 2023
• Speaker, “Biden Administration Merger Challenges: Can the Agencies Turn Around a Losing Record?” 2023 Goodwin CLE Day Webinar Series, January 19, 2023
• Speaker, “What’s Happening at the FTC and Its Impact on Life Sciences Deal Flow,” Goodwin Fourth Annual JPMorgan Symposium, January 11, 2023
• Speaker, “Goodwin’s Closing the Deal – How to get a Private Equity Deal Done in an Environment of Heightened Antitrust Scrutiny Webinar,” October 26, 2022
• Speaker, “Dealing in an era of fast evolving innovation: Deals, M&A, and Alliances,” KPMG 2022 Global Life Sciences Summit, May 18, 2022
• Speaker, “#BigTechBreakUp: What’s to Come in Antitrust for the Tech Sector in 2022,” 2022 Goodwin CLE Day Webinar Series, January 26, 2022
• Speaker, “Fireside Chat: Antitrust Expansion in Life Sciences Collaborations,” Goodwin's Third Annual JPMorgan Symposium, January 13, 2022
• Speaker, “FTC Antitrust Lessons Learned for Life Sciences Companies,” Goodwin Life Sciences Disputes Webinar Series, November 18, 2021