Mergers with Dominant Firms: The Lundbeck Case

In Lundbeck the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision approving a merger of the only two drugs authorized to treat a rare but serious heart condition in infants. When the acquisition occurred Lundbeck owned a patented drug called Indocin IV, which at the time was the only drug approved by the FDA to treat this condition. It then acquired the rights to NeoProfen, a drug that had been developed but was still awaiting FDA approval.  The two drug