Commission approves acquisition of Seagen by Pfizer

The European Commission has unconditionally approved the proposed acquisition of Seagen by Pfizer, under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area (‘EEA’).

Seagen and Pfizer are pharmaceutical companies. In the EEA, the companies’ marketed and pipeline products overlap in the treatment of several cancer types such as breast, bladder, colorectal, cervical and lung cancer, as well as in lymphoma and leukaemia.

Based on its market investigation, the Commission found that the merger would not significantly reduce competition in the markets where their activities overlap within the EEA.

In particular, the Commission focused its investigation on potential competition between the parties’ marketed and pipeline products, and it found that the transaction would not lead to either the: (i) discontinuation, delay or re-orientation of the parties’ ongoing and overlapping lines of research or pipeline projects; or (ii) loss of innovation resulting from a structural reduction of the overall level of innovation, given that there is a significant number of players engaged in research & development activities.

Moreover, the Commission found that the transaction was unlikely to have negative impact on prices, given that the parties’ offerings are differentiated and complementary and that the markets for the treatment of the various cancer types examined are sufficiently competitive.

The Commission therefore concluded that the proposed merger would not raise competition concerns and cleared the transaction unconditionally.