WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission announced Feb. 8 that it approved a final order settling charges that Bausch + Lomb parent company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. illegally acquired Paragon Holdings I Inc.
Valeant and Paragon both produced polymer discs, or “buttons,” which are used to make rigid gas permeable (GP) contact lenses. When Valeant acquired Paragon in 2015, competition between the two companies for the sale of FDA-approved buttons was allegedly eliminated.
According to the FTC, the acquisition combined the two largest manufacturers of GP buttons; the two companies accounted for a total of more than 70 percent of U.S. sales across all three button types. After Valeant acquired Paragon, the company purportedly used its new market power to increase prices, reduce volume discounts, decrease innovation, and reduce product distribution options in each button market.
As per the order settling the case, Valeant was required to sell Paragon and all associated assets to a newly created entity, Paragon Companies LLC.
The FTC voted 3-0 to approve the final order. The staff contact on the case is Charles Harwood, director of the Northwest Regional Office.