Amgen, Horizon Therapeutics Reach Settlement On FTC Lawsuit; Seeks To Close Acquisition In Q4

(RTTNews) - Amgen (AMGN) and Horizon Therapeutics plc (HZNP) announced Friday the entry into a consent order agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that resolves the pending FTC administrative lawsuit. This clears the path to take the final steps to close Amgen's $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon.

Under the agreement, Amgen is prohibited from bundling an Amgen product with either Tepezza or Krystexxa, Horizon's two monopoly products.

Further, Amgen will not condition any product rebate or contract terms related to an Amgen product on the sale or positioning either one of these two drugs. Amgen also is barred from using any product rebate or contract term to exclude or disadvantage any product that would compete with Tepezza or Krystexxa.

Amgen will be prohibited from leveraging its drug portfolio to disadvantage rivals and will be required to seek prior approval from the FTC before acquiring related products.

Amgen and Horizon now expect to jointly file stipulated proposed orders to dismiss the preliminary injunction motion and dissolve the temporary restraining order (TRO) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. They will also quickly seek the final approvals required under Irish law to close the acquisition.

The companies anticipate being able to close the acquisition in early fourth-quarter 2023.