FTC orders asset disposal regarding Hikma buy of Custopharm

Following a public comment period, the USA’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved a final order settling charges that London-listed Jordanian drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ (LSE: HIK) $375 million acquisition of Custopharm likely would have harmed competition in the market for the corticosteroid drug triamcinolone acetonide, or TCA.

Hikma announced the decision to acquire Custopharm - a Californian generic sterile injectables company with a differentiated product portfolio and R&D pipeline - in September 2021, and apart from the upfront payment of $375 million is committed to paying a further $50 million in commercial milestones. At that time, Hikma said it expects addition of the business to generate full year 2021 revenue in excess of $80 million.

Only Custopharm and a few other companies now make this drug. First announced in April 2022, the FTC’s complaint alleged that with this acquisition, Hikma was likely to stop developing its own TCA product, threatening competition in the TCA market.