EU Approval For Behringwerke/Armour Plasma Deal

European Commission approval has been granted for the creation of the planned plasma products joint venture between Hoechst's Behringwerke and Rhone-Poulenc's Armour, which will bring all their worldwide plasma derivatives business together in one operation (Marketletter February 27).

The Commission assessment of the proposed deal, to check whether it complies with European Union competition law, identified overlaps in four product areas - human albumin, intravenous immunoglobulin, Factor VIII and Factor IX - but concluded that "the concentration will not strengthen or create a dominant position."

Since "differing national systems for registration, safety standards and social security reimbursement have the effect that the markets for these products are still national," the Commission conducted an evaluation of how far the new joint venture could distort competition in local markets. In most countries, "the combined market shares of the parties is low," says the Commission, but they attain a 30% share of the Factor VIII market across Europe, with 40% in Germany and even more in Austria.