Senators Call on FTC to Probe Pharma Mergers

Nine senators — including eight Democrats and one Independent — have urged the Federal Trade Commission to “closely scrutinize” AbbVie’s proposed $63 billion merger with Allergan and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposed $74 billion merger with Celgene.

In a Sept. 17 letter, the senators led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) claimed that the two mergers raise anticompetition concerns and called on the FTC to carefully consider whether the proposed transactions “may lessen competition, stifle innovation, or harm consumers.”

Combining the drug portfolios of the merging companies “may give them increased negotiating leverage to force buyers to provide them with more favorable terms across multiple product categories,” the senators said.