Attorney General Josh Kaul announced the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) is joining an international working group, initiated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), to update the national and international approach to analyzing the effects of pharmaceutical mergers.
“We must use the tools at our disposal to work to lower the cost of prescription drugs,” said Attorney General Kaul. “I’m proud that Wisconsin is part of this international effort to re-examine antitrust laws to better address consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry.”
The working group will be initiated by the FTC, and will include the Canadian Competition Bureau, European Commission Directorate General for Competition, United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority, US Department of Justice, Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, California Department of Justice, and Wisconsin DOJ.
This joint project taps expertise from competition authorities with whom the FTC cooperates frequently, as well as others with relevant experience, to ensure the most effective enforcement in these crucial markets. The goal of this initiative is to identify concrete and actionable steps to review and update the analysis of pharmaceutical mergers. This project will ensure that FTC investigations include fresh approaches that fully analyze and address the varied competitive concerns that these mergers and acquisitions raise.
“Given the high volume of pharmaceutical mergers in recent years, amid skyrocketing drug prices and ongoing concerns about anticompetitive conduct in the industry, it is imperative that we rethink our approach toward pharmaceutical merger review,” said FTC Acting Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter. “Working hand in hand with international and domestic enforcement partners, we intend to take an aggressive approach to tackling anticompetitive pharmaceutical mergers.”
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