On June 30, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released final Vertical Merger Guidelines. As noted previously, the agencies had issued draft guidelines that were subject to...more
In April 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) released its annual report for 2019. The FTC’s annual report details the FTC’s actions over the prior year. In 2019, similar to other years, the health care industry...more
Antitrust enforcers from the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), during a roundtable discussion at this year’s virtual spring meeting of the American Bar Association’s Antitrust Law Section, proclaimed that, with certain...more
On March 24, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that they would expedite antitrust guidance for COVID-19 public health projects. In the agencies’ joint statement,...more
The Premerger Notification Office of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that their review of Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) filings will continue despite...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) (collectively, the “Agencies”) have a long history of teaming up to ensure that advertising and other promotional communications for...more
2/27/2020
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Biologics ,
Biosimilars ,
Competition ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Joint Statements ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sales Promotions ,
Truth in Advertising
Adjustments to the reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“Act”) will become effective on February 27, 2020. At that time, the minimum size-of-transaction threshold goes up to $94...more
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (collectively, “Agencies”) recently released for public comment their much-anticipated draft Vertical Merger Guidelines (“Guidelines”) that purport to “outline...more
1/30/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vertical Mergers
Providers that are not financially or clinically integrated must keep separate operations. This can extend to the use of a common agent for the non-integrated providers. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade...more
How a transaction gets structured raises a multitude of issues, including whether the transaction might be reportable under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR”). Structuring a transaction for the purpose...more
This past June, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First (“Order”), intending to increase price and quality transparency for American...more
The fact that a merger might be anticompetitive is not a reason to prohibit a transaction if all of the elements of the “failing firm defense” are met, as described below. In fact, the antitrust agencies have long recognized...more
On September 16, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released their combined Hart-Scott-Rodino Annual Report (“Report”) for fiscal year 2018 (covering the...more
When submitting a Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Premerger Notification and Report Form and documentary attachments, parties are required to include what are known as “4(c) documents” and “4(d) documents.” Under the HSR...more
Last September, Makan Delrahim, the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced efforts to streamline antitrust merger reviews with a stated goal of completing the...more
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has a process that allows organizations to seek written opinions from the agency on whether proposed conduct will violate the antitrust laws. (The Federal Trade...more
On June 6, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) submitted a comment letter regarding a proposed rule by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology...more
Until recently, state and federal enforcers shared a common outlook in their approach and goals for antitrust enforcement. Most state antitrust laws mirror federal laws, and a consistent approach to antitrust enforcement has...more
On May 31, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) posted the agenda for its final hearing in the “Competition and Consumer Protection in the 21st Century” series. The hearing will take place on June 12, 2019. The FTC has...more
In our last Antitrust Byte, we brought to your attention Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter’s support for retrospective reviews of vertical transactions. Not to be overlooked, however, is Chairman...more
The Federal Trade Commission Act (“Act”) declares “unfair methods of competition to be unlawful” and gives the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) multiple tools to combat such conduct. Section 5(b) of the Act provides the FTC...more
On March 11, 2019, the Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC’s”) Bureau of Competition and the Assistant Director of the Bureau’s Compliance Division coauthored a blog post to announce the revision of “standard...more
Parties involved in health care transactions subject to the reporting requirements of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR” or “Act”) frequently ask whether submission of the HSR Notification and Report...more
2/28/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Confidential Information ,
Contractual Safeguards ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FOIA ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Information Sharing ,
Mergers ,
Public Disclosure ,
Sensitive Business Information
The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR”) (section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. §18a) requires parties to a transaction meeting certain size thresholds to complete and file a Notification and Report Form...more
The Statements of Antitrust Enforcement Policy in Health Care (“Policy Statements”), issued jointly by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission, provide, at Statement 3, guidelines for evaluating whether a joint...more