US authorities clear Amgen’s €26.8bn takeover of Horizon Therapeutics

The acquisition is Amgen’s largest ever

Under the terms of the deal, Amgen said it wouldn’t bundle its drugs with Horizon’s monopoly medications.

Amgen can move forward with its $27.8bn (€25.8bn) takeover of Dublin-headquartered Horizon Therapeutics after the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Friday that it accepted a binding settlement that the combined company won’t bundle together two of Horizon’s blockbuster drugs.

The acquisition — Amgen’s largest ever — was announced in December and the FTC sued in May, in its first federal court challenge to a pharmaceutical deal since 2009. The settlement will avoid an injunction hearing that was set to begin on September 13 in Chicago federal court.