FTC approves final order on Akorn’s acquisition of Hi-Tech

Following a public comment period, the US Federal Trade Commission on Friday approved a final order settling charges that Akorn Enterprises (Nasdaq: AKRX) $640 million acquisition of Hi-Tech Pharmacal (Nasdaq: HITK) was anticompetitive and would lead to higher prices for consumers in several current and future generic drug markets.

According to the  FTC’s complaint, the acquisition as proposed would reduce competition in the markets for four generic medications, including eye drops and topical anesthetics, and would reduce future competition in the market for a generic ointment prescribed to treat bacterial eye infections.

The final order settling the FTC charges requires the parties to sell either Akorn’s or Hi-Tech’s rights and assets to each of the five drug products to Watson Laboratories, now trading as Actavis (NYSE: ACT), and required Akorn to assign Watson its contract for making a currently available branded and generic topical anesthetic cream within 10 days after the deal is completed.