The European Commission opened, on Wednesday 25 March, an in-depth investigation into the proposed acquisition of Tachosil by Johnson & Johnson.
The Commission is concerned that the merger may reduce potential competition and innovation for the supply of dual haemostatic patches.
For Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for Competition Policy, "in this concentrated space, we need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to reduced choice for surgeons and patients, to higher prices for our health services, or to slower development of alternative solutions to manage problematic bleeding".
Johnson & Johnson is one of the leading manufacturers of haemostats in the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the United Kingdom and globally. Tachosil is the dominant dual haemostatic patch product in Europe and is currently owned by Takeda.
The Commission's initial investigation primarily focused on haemostats and, more particularly, on dual haemostatic patches, which address the most problematic bleeding situations.
The Commission is concerned that the proposed transaction could remove Johnson & Johnson as the best placed potential entrant in the already concentrated market for dual haemostatic patches and enable Johnson & Johnson through the reinforcement of its leading position in the haemostats space, to hinder competitors' expansion.
See: https://bit.ly/2WEd96W (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)