Support study for DG COMP on killer acquisitions in the pharmaceutical sector – ongoing

Lear has been appointed by the European Commission to carry out an ex-post evaluation of EU competition enforcement looking at acquisitions of innovative competitors in the pharmaceutical sector that have led to the discontinuation of overlapping drug research and development projects to the detriment of future competition (“killer acquisitions”). The study will assess the actual scope and characteristics of the phenomenon of killer acquisitions in the pharmaceutical sector and will devise a methodology that will enable the Commission to identify such instances in the future. In addition, the project will evaluate how well the Commission’s substantive merger assessment dealt with killer acquisitions, as well as the legal framework within which the European Commission operates.