Amgen completes $27.8 billion Horizon Therapeutics deal

(Reuters) – Amgen said on Friday it had completed the $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics after it received the go-ahead from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last month on certain conditions.

Under the settlement terms with the FTC following its lawsuit to block the deal, Amgen is prevented from using anti-competitive tactics to extend the market dominance of Horizon’s fast-growing thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza and gout drug Krystexxa.

The FTC’s antitrust lawsuit had raised concerns over increased oversight on mergers and acquisitions in a sector that often turns to consolidation to power future growth as patents on older treatments expire.

The deal closure was within the fourth-quarter timeline set by the two companies, and is expected to add to Amgen’s adjusted earnings from next year.

Amgen, which has gained Horizon’s two key products Tepezza and Krystexxa, said it will provide an updated annual forecast during its third-quarter earnings call.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Gregory Renza expects Amgen’s updated forecast to weave in revenue from Horizon’s drugs, which could partially offset the company’s “maturing product line”.

Tepezza could be a “core driver” for Amgen, Renza said, adding that the drug can bring in $3.9 billion in peak sales.

(This story has been refiled to remove the reference to the earnings call data in paragraph 5)

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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