For Your Information
FTC Approves Modifications to Bristol Meyers Squibb Divestiture Agreement
The Federal Trade Commission has approved certain modifications to Bristol Meyers Squibb’s, or BMS’s, Divestiture Agreements that the FTC approved and incorporated into its order as part of a consent that was required when BMS acquired Celgene in 2019. The modifications relate to certain confidential provisions of the Divestiture Agreements and are necessary to ensure that Amgen, Inc. (Amgen) continues as a viable competitor with the Otezla product. This action is being taken pursuant to Commission Rule 2.41(f)(5)(ii) whereby the Commission waived formal approval and the public comment period of the proposed modifications.
As a condition of BMS’s acquisition of Celgene, the FTC required BMS to divest to Amgen the psoriasis treatment drug, Otezla. The $13.4 billion divestiture settled FTC charges that BMS’s proposed $74 billion acquisition of Celgene would violate federal antitrust law.
The Commission initially voted 3-2 to approve the final order in November 2019. The Commission’s initial vote to issue the complaint and accept the proposed consent order was 3-2, with Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter issuing dissenting statements, and Commissioners Noah Joshua Phillips and Christine S. Wilson issuing separate statements.
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