WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order settling charges that Mylan Inc.’s $7.2 billion acquisition of Swedish drug maker Meda would be anticompetitive. The approval comes after a public comment period.
The order mandates that the companies divest two generic drugs – carisoprodol, a treatment for muscle spasms, and felbamate, a treatment for refractory epilepsy.
The FTC believed without this divestment, the acquisition would harm consumers by forcing them to pay higher prices. Additionally, the FTC charged it would have eliminated competition between the two companies in the market for both drugs.
Mylan will relinquish all rights and assets for its felbamate tablet to Alvogen Pharma US Inc. and all U.S. marketing rights for carisoprodol, which will go back to the owner of the drug, Indicus Pharma LLC. Indicus Pharma can now enter into an agreement with a new marketing partner.
The FTC voted 3-0 to approve the final order.