Antitrust Trends in Technology, Life Sciences, and Healthcare

In the second quarter, federal and state antitrust enforcers continued their intense scrutiny of consolidation in the healthcare market by implementing new initiatives and laws designed to gather additional information regarding transactions and conduct in the space.

To date, 2024 has not yet seen the type of mega-merger (Pfizer/Seagen) or the same level of agency enforcement (Sanofi/Maze or Amgen/Horizon) as 2023. But two notable investigations — one still active — show the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is continuing to closely examine life sciences transactions for both horizontal and vertical concerns. The agency also continues to put the life sciences industry under the regulatory microscope, including through investigations regarding alleged “junk” patents in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (commonly known as the Orange Book) and the release of its interim staff report on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

Antitrust actions significantly impacted the technology sector in 2023 and are poised to have substantial repercussions in the future, affecting both major tech companies and emerging enterprises. In addition to a focus on the largest technology companies, a prevalent theme in much of the antitrust activity in the tech space in 2023 was the examination of behavior across vertically related products or services.

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