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www.fdanews.com/articles/195590-ftc-issues-final-order-on-134-billion-otezla-divestment

FTC Issues Final Order on $13.4 Billion Otezla Divestment

January 22, 2020

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order requiring Bristol-Myers Squibb to divest Celgene’s psoriasis drug Otezla (apremilast) as a condition of their $74 billion merger.

Under the preliminary order, BMS sold off Otezla to Amgen for $13.4 billion — in the largest divestiture that the FTC has required in a merger.

The Commission required the sale of Otezla on the grounds that the acquisition would likely limit competition in the market for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis treatments. BMS is developing a new oral treatment for the condition that would compete directly with Otezla.

The companies first announced the decision to sell off the drug last year. The FTC announced a preliminary order in November, which cleared the way for the companies to finalize the merger.

The drugmakers closed the deal on November 20 and Amgen announced that the acquisition of Otezla was completed the next day.

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