31/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission authorised the acquisition by Johnson & Johnson of the 50% stake held by Merck & Co in their joint venture Johnson & Johnson MSD Europe, a manufacturer to pharmaceutical products sold without prescription. The Commission has investigated the impact of this operation on the markets where the parties are present, especially on the vertical integration of the main active ingredients produced by Johnson & Johnson, and the pharmaceutical markets and the joint company in which they are used. Although the parties have large market shares for certain categories of product, the Commission concluded that the operation raises no competition problems, given that their products are not in competition with each other, and that there is no risk of foreclosure on the vertically-integrated markets.