Danaher Corporation has agreed to divest assets to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its proposed $21.4 billion acquisition of General Electric’s biopharmaceutical business, GE Biopharma, would violate federal antitrust law.
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The FTC alleges that the proposed acquisition would substantially lessen competition in the United States (and potentially the rest of the world) in highly concentrated product markets for ten products that companies use to manufacture biopharmaceutical drugs.
Danaher will divest to Sartorius AG all rights and assets to research, develop, manufacture, market, and sell these products. Based in Germany, Sartorius provides bioprocessing equipment and other products to the life sciences industry.
The products to be divested include:
Microcarrier Beads. Used in cell culture bioprocessing, microcarrier beads provide a surface to grow cells. Danaher and GE are the two leading global suppliers, and each other’s closest competitors. The acquisition as proposed would reduce the number of major suppliers from three to two.
Conventional Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography Columns. Conventional LPLC columns are containers that hold chromatography resins used as the adsorbent during the stationary phase. There are only three main suppliers, including Danaher and GE, both of which hold a significant share of the market.
Conventional Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography Skids. These systems of pumps, valves, sensors, tubing, electronic components, software, and flow paths control the flow of liquid in the columns. GE is the leading supplier; GE and Danaher compete directly in this market; and there are few other significant suppliers.
Single Use Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography Skids. These skids control the flow of liquid in the same way as conventional liquid chromatography skids, except certain components are disposable. GE is the dominant supplier, and GE and Danaher are two of only three significant suppliers.
Chromatography Resins. These chemically treated resins constitute the stationary phase in chromatography. Each resin type differs in its chemical characteristics and uses, and each type constitutes a distinct antitrust market. GE and Danaher have competitively significant overlaps in three resin markets: affinity resins, ion exchange resins, and mixed mode resins. GE is the dominant supplier of chromatography resins, and Danaher is a significant, independent competitor.
Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography Continuous Chromatography Systems. LPLC continuous chromatography systems allow for the simultaneous processing of multiple columns in LPLC. These systems consist of pumps, valves, sensors, tubing, electronic components, software, and flow paths composed of either multi use or single use components. Danaher and GE are two of five suppliers.
Single Use Tangential Flow Filtration Systems. These systems control the filtration process, which removes unwanted molecules during the cell growth by running liquids through porous membranes. Combined, Danaher and GE would have a significant portion of the market.
Label Free Molecular Characterization Instruments. Researchers use these instruments for a number of bioprocessing applications, including drug discovery. Danaher and GE are significant competitors in this market. The remainder of the market is highly fragmented. ■