WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Aug. 30 that, following a public comment period, it has approved a final order against Baxter International Inc., resolving allegations that Baxter’s proposed $625 million acquisition of Claris Lifesciences’ injectable drugs business would be anti-competitive.
According to the FTC, the acquisition without remedy would reduce current competition within the U.S. market for the anti-fungal agent fluconazole in saline intravenous bags.
Additionally, the acquisition could have harmed future competition for intravenous milrinone, the FTC argued. Milrinone is used to dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure and help blood flow better through a patient’s system.
To settle the allegations, Baxter agreed to divest all of Claris’s rights to fluconazole to Renaissance Lakewood LLC, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in New Jersey.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the final order. Kari Wallace of the Bureau of Competition is the staff contact for the case.