WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) - The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced Sept. 28 that Abbott Laboratories and Alere Inc. will divest two point-of-care medical device product lines after allegations Abbott’s proposed $8.3 billion acquisition of Alere could harm competition.
Both companies involved in the potential acquisition have point-of-care diagnostic device product lines. According to the FTC, the merger would concentrate the market and harm competition in the United States for the sale of point-of-care blood gas testing systems and point-of-care cardiac marker testing systems.
To resolve the allegations, the companies will divest the rights and assets for two products. These rights and assets include all related intellectual property, manufacturing technology, and confidential business information. Alere’s blood gas testing system will be sold to Siemens Aktiengelsellschaft. Alere’s cardiac marker testing system will be sold to Quidel Corporation.
The FTC voted 2-0 to issue the complaint and accept the proposed consent order, which will be subject to public comment until Oct. 30. The FTC then will determine whether to finalize the proposed consent order. A description of the consent agreement package will soon be published in the Federal Register.