Articles Posted in FTC Antitrust Highlights

On March 29th, the Federal Trade Commission announced its intention to conduct a study of the use, and likely short- and long-term competitive effects, of authorized generics in the prescription drug marketplace. An authorized generic is chemically identical to a particular brand-name drug, but the brand-name manufacturer authorizes it to be marketed in a generic…

On March 28th, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras announced the appointments of two new deputy directors of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. Kenneth L. Glazer joins the agency from The Coca-Cola Company, and David P. Wales, Jr. from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP’s Washington office.

On March 27th, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice jointly released a “Commentary on the Horizontal Merger Guidelines” that continues the agencies’ ongoing efforts to increase the transparency of their decision-making processes – in this case, with regard to federal antitrust review of “horizontal” mergers between competing firms. The analytical framework…

On March 27th, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras kicked off an International Competition Network workshop to discuss the implementation of the ICN’s recommended practices for merger notification and review. These standards are designed to make the process for reviewing mergers more effective and efficient for both the merging parties and the sometimes multiple…

The staff of the FTC stated on March 18 in an advisory opinion letter that the proposed plan by a physician-hospital organization that would involve collective bargaining with insurers over doctor fees likely would violate federal antitrust laws. The staff concluded that the price and other competitive restraints proposed by the network were not reasonably…

On March 14th, the FTC announced that Valassis Communications, Inc., a leading producer of free-standing newspaper inserts (“FSIs”) in the United States, has settled charges that it attempted to collude with News America Marketing, its only FSI rival, to eliminate competition between the two companies. Under the consent order settling the FTC’s complaint, Valassis is…

On January 6, 2005, the Commission ruled that Chicago Bridge & Iron Company (“CB&I”) illegally acquired Pitt-Des Moines, Inc.’s (“PDM”) Engineered Construction and Water Divisions. The FTC did not initially investigate the deal when the parties filed their Hart Scott Rodino notification forms. Eight months after the HSR waiting period expired, the FTC challenged the…