US FTC updates on Valeant dermatology acquisitions

Following public comment periods for both transactions, the US Federal Trade Commission has approved final orders settling charges that Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International TSX: VRX) two proposed acquisitions of dermatology businesses – one from Sanofi and one from Johnson & Johnson (The Pharma Letters July 11 and 18, 2011) – would have been anticompetitive and in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The consent orders, each requiring Valeant to sell certain assets to maintain competition, were approved to address the anticompetitive concerns arising from the two transactions. The Commission voted 4-0 to approve each order.

Under the order remedying the anticompetitive effects of Valeant's proposed acquisition of assets from Sanofi, Valeant has sold the manufacturing and marketing rights to pharmaceutical products that treat acne and actinic keratosis to Mylan Pharmaceuticals. This order has been modified to reflect amended, non-public terms.