By Jody Godoy
PHILADELPHIA, March 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is on the lookout for anticompetitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry with a number of blockbuster drugs near the end of their patents, the FTC’s head of antitrust enforcement said on Tuesday, as the agency looks to protect consumers from unfair prices.
Monitoring the shift in the market brought about by patent expirations is part of the FTC’s “laser focus” on healthcare, Dan Guarnera, director of the FTC’s bureau of competition, said at Reuters Events’ Pharma USA conference in Philadelphia.
“We are always happy to hear concerns from market participants, including generics and patient groups to make sure that the entry of generics can happen as it’s designed to under the patent laws,” he said.
Many of the top-selling U.S. drugs are set to lose their patent exclusivity by the end of the decade, including Merck’s cancer drug Keytruda, Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer’s blood thinner Eliquis and J&J’s cancer drug Darzalex.
Healthcare is an intentional focus area for the FTC, which has moved to block multiple deals in the sector, including a $356 million medical equipment merger that was abandoned on Monday.
“It’s an area that we care a lot about, not only because of obviously the huge effect it has on the economy, but also because it has such a direct effect on Americans’ pocketbooks and well-being,” Guarnera said. He added that he was speaking for himself, and that his comments may not reflect the FTC’s views.
On Monday, Switzerland-based Alcon said it had abandoned its bid to acquire Lensar after the FTC indicated it intended to sue to block the deal. The acquisition would have reduced competition between the two companies, which both make laser systems used in a specific type of cataract surgery, the FTC said.
The agency was concerned the deal would not only raise the cost of the systems but also would slow innovation, Guarnera said on Tuesday.
The FTC is also attuned to how pharmaceutical mergers can affect incentives to innovate, even in deals where the drugs at issue are still in the pipeline stage, he said.
“We really do care about and want to see the effects of a merger on the firm’s incentives to innovate, to continue their research and development programs and continue their pipeline drug production,” Guarnera said.
(Reporting by Jody Godoy in Philadelphia; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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