RE:Seagen filed SEC Schedule 14A outlining Pfizer $43 Bln M&A May 15, 2023 - Pfizer and Seagen on Friday submitted paperwork for their proposed $43 billion merger to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice (FTC). Friday’s premerger filing kicks off a 15-day waiting period based on the FTC’s rules for a cash tender offer. The two companies can proceed with the transaction if the waiting period expires without any objections from the FTC.
But the U.S. agency might ask for additional information in what’s known as a “second request.” Such a request could prolong the review timeline.
Plus, the deal faces an FTC panel of three Democrat commissioners after the only Republican leader at the agency, Christine Wilson, resigned in March in protest against Chair Lina Khan.
Two years ago, the FTC said it would start to look beyond simple product overlaps when conducting biopharma deal reviews.
For Pfizer, Seagen brings an industry-leading antibody-drug conjugate oncology platform, which has plenty of competition from the likes of AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo. Pfizer’s and Seagen’s portfolios have little overlap other than that they both have a presence in oncology.
Besides the Pfizer-Seagen deal, biopharma watchers are also following the FTC review of Amgen’s $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics.
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-seagen-kick-ftc-review-43b-merger-3-democrats-lead-us-antitrust-watchdog