FTC Clears BMS’ Divestiture Agreements With Updated Otezla Provisions

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved certain modifications to Bristol Meyers Squibb’s (BMS) divestiture agreements as part of the company’s 2019 acquisition of Celgene.

The modifications, which are confidential, relate to certain provisions of the agreements BMS made to divest the psoriasis drug, Otezla (apremilast), to its competitor, Amgen, the FTC said.

“The modifications are necessary to ensure that Amgen continues as a viable competitor with the Otezla product,” wrote the FTC.

The $13.4 billion divestiture of Otezla to Amgen settled FTC charges that BMS’ proposed $74 billion acquisition of Celgene would violate federal antitrust law, creating a monopoly for oral moderate-to-severe psoriasis treatments.