Amgen Inc. can move forward with its $27.8 billion takeover of Horizon Therapeutics Plc after the US Federal Trade Commission 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 Sept. 13 in Chicago federal court.
Horizon shares rose 2.9% in premarket trading on the news. Seagen Inc., whose deal to be bought by Pfizer Inc. is also under FTC review, rose 2.4% in premarket trading.
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