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FTC Seeks Public Comment on Revised Proposed Rule Prohibiting Petroleum Market Manipulation
Commission Approves Final Consent Order in Matter of National Association of Music Merchants, Inc.
FTC Staff Advises Maryland Physician-Hospital Organization That it Will Not Recommend Antitrust Challenge to Proposal to Provide Member Physicians Services Through Clinical Integration Program
National Association of Music Merchants, Inc., In the Matter of
The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), a trade association with more than 9,000 members nationwide, settled charges that it violated federal law by enabling and encouraging the exchange of competitively sensitive price information among its members. The FTC alleged that NAMM organized meetings at which its members were encouraged to communicate, and did in fact share, information about prices and business strategy. To the detriment of consumers, NAMM’s conduct enhanced the members’ ability to coordinate price increases for musical instruments. In settling the complaint, NAMM agreed to stop engaging in such conduct.
Lubrizol Corporation, The, and The Lockhart Company, In the Matter of
The Commission challenged Lubrizol Corporation’s consummated 2007 acquisition of the oxidate assets of The Lockhart Company which had the effect of substantially lessening competition in the already highly concentrated U.S. market for chemical rust inhibitors. These inhibitors are commonly used to prevent rusting during the manufacture of metal products such as automobiles and other heavy equipment. According to the Commission’s complaint the acquisition removed Lubrizol’s last substantial competitor in the relevant market. In addition, the Commission challenged a non-compete agreement included in the terms of the acquisition which prevented Lockhart from competing in the relevant market for 5 years as anticompetitive because it restrained the ability of new firms to enter the market. The Commission issued a consent order remedying its anticompetitive concerns requiring the divestiture of the oxidate assets in question to Additives International and the elimination of the non-compete agreement.
Public Hearing in Berkeley, California, to Focus on Intellectual Property
FTC Halts Bogus Cancer Cures
FTC Staff Comment Says New York Bill to Regulate Pharmacy Benefit Managers May Increase Pharmaceutical Prices for New York Consumers; Commission Approves Final Consent Order in Matter of Dow Chemical Company and Rohm & Haas Company
FTC Intervenes in BASFs Proposed $5.1 Billion Acquisition of Ciba Holding Inc.
Competition Acting Director David Wales to Leave FTC
FTC Testifies in Support of Bill Banning Pay-for-Delay Settlements Between Brand and Generic Drug Companies
Bristol-Myers Squibb to Pay $2.1 Million Penalty for Failure to Disclose Agreement Involving Substantial Payments to Delay Entry of a Generic Version of the Drug Plavix
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) agreed to pay $2.1 million – the largest fine allowed by law – for failing to inform the FTC of agreements reached with Apotex, Inc., regarding potential generic competition to its blockbuster drug Plavix. BMS’s conduct violated a 2003 FTC Order and the Medicare Modernization Act, which requires that certain drug company agreements be accurately reported to both the Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint alleges that BMS failed to disclose that, as part of a patent settlement in which Apotex agreed not to launch its generic version of Plavix for several years, BMS also orally stated, among other things, that it would not compete with Apotex during the first 180 days after Apotex did market its new generic drug.
FTC Staff Comment Says Bills to Authorize Collective Bargaining by Minnesota Health Care Cooperatives will Raise Health Care Costs for Minnesota Consumers
The Evolving IP Marketplace
April 17 Public Hearing in Washington, DC to Focus on Intellectual Property
Commission Approves Final Consent Order in Matter of Getinge AB and Datascope Corp.
Getinge AB and Datascope Corp., In the Matter of
The Commission challenged Getinge AB’s proposed $865 million acquisition of rival Datascope Corporation as anticompetitive in the market for endoscopic vessel harvesting devices (EVHs). EVHs are used during coronary artery bypass graft surgery where a vein is removed from a patients leg or arm to replace a damaged or blocked coronary artery. According to the Commission’s complaint, the acquisition as proposed would give Getinge nearly a 90% market share and the ability to unilaterally increase prices while reducing the likelihood of innovation. The Commission issued a consent order requiring that Datascope divest its EVH assets to Sorin Group USA within 10 days of consummating the transaction.
CCC Holdings Inc., and Aurora Equity Partners III L.P., In the Matter of
In November 2008, the Commission issued an administrative complaint charging that the acquisition of CCC Information Services by Mitchell International, a transaction valued at $1.4 billion, would be anticompetitive in the market for “estimatics”, a database system used by auto insurers and repair shops to generate repair estimates for consumers. According to the complaint, the transaction would also harm competition in the market for total loss valuation (TLV) systems, used to inform consumers when their vehicle has been totaled. The transaction would create a new entity with well over half of the market share for these systems, allowing for unilateral price increases, and facilitating coordination among the remaining smaller competitors in the market. The Commission concurrently authorized staff to file a complaint in Federal District Court. On March 9, 2009, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order preventing the parties from consummating the transaction pending a full administrative trial on the merits. On March 13, 2009, since the respondents announced that they decided not to proceed with the proposed merger the Commission dismissed the Administrative Complaint.
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