FTC to appeal judge’s decision on Illumina-Grail deal
2022.09.02 22:34
The Federal Trade Commission on Friday said it will appeal an administrative judge’s decision earlier this week in favor of Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN)’s acquisition of cancer detection test maker Grail Inc, according to a spokesperson.
The FTC’s chief administrative law judge had ruled the acquisition will not hurt competition, in a blow to the agency, which was challenging the deal.
Increasing competition has been a mandate of the Biden administration, and the FTC’s Director of the Bureau of Competition Holly Vedova had said on Thursday the agency might challenge the court ruling.
The FTC filed a lawsuit in March 2021 to stop Illumina’s $7.1 billion deal to buy its former subsidiary Grail, arguing the deal would slow innovation for tests designed to detect multiple kinds of cancer. The vote to sue was unanimous.
