FTC Proposes Order to Resolve Anticompetitive Practices and Protect Healthcare Consumers

Author: Amy Asubonteng

June 26, 2026

HRRC supports both the press release and the call to action given by the Federal Trade Commission. As high prices limit accessibility to quality healthcare products, divesting drugs becomes a necessary way to counteract the chances of driving up prices for uniquely provided drugs. 

[Image credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya via Pexels] 

The Federal Trade Commission, a bipartisan governmental agency made to protect American consumers, released news on June 18 that detailed the decision to attempt to protect Americans from increased drug costs resulting from a pending deal between Aurobindo Pharma USA and Lannett, two pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medications for various ailments.  

In July 2025, Aurobindo Pharma USA agreed to acquire full ownership of Lannett for $250 million. This transaction was expected to close within a year. However, as of recently, the FTC proposed a consent order that requires Aurobindo Pharma to sell off four of its drug assets to Quagen Pharmaceuticals LLC in order to acquire, or purchase, Lannett. In addition to Aurobindo’s need to divest the four generic drugs to Quagan Pharmaceuticals, Aurobindo must also help operate the drugs. 

“Without the divestitures, the deal would increase the likelihood that Aurobindo would be able to unilaterally exercise market power in these four drug markets…” the FTC wrote in the press release. “Ultimately, customers would be forced to pay higher prices…” 

The purchase of Lannett would combine two competitors into an already limited market for certain medical drugs, where only a few other manufacturers can produce that product. The combined organization would produce four different drugs, which include medications for organ transplant, cholesterol, dry mouth, and stomach acid. This acquisition would limit competition and consumer options for those four drugs, which would in turn give Aurobindo the power to increase the price of each medication. The FTC’s decision was thereby preventative, to avoid giving a level of control to Aurobindo that would increase its market power. By promoting a competitive market, the FTC is aiming to limit the price increase of these products.

The decision-making of the FTC is further supported by a study conducted by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019. The FDA found new evidence proving that there is a positive correlation between greater competition in the pharmaceutical market and the relative ease of access and affordability of drugs for consumers. Generally speaking, more competition in a given market lowers prices because companies are thus competing with more companies for the same number of consumers. When more companies can provide a particular product, consumers can afford to exercise more options and choose to purchase from the company that offers the lowest price. 

As cost remains a key issue in healthcare worldwide, affordability must be addressed and prioritized to promote its accessibility. Not only does that increase healthcare as a fundamental right, but it also ensures consumer protection, which is necessary in the maintenance of a fair, inclusive, less poverty-bounded economy.

---

Glossary

• Acquire: to get as one's own: to come into possession or control of often by unspecified means

• Acquisition: the act of acquiring something 

• Affordability: able to be afforded: having a cost that is not too high 

• Agency: an administrative division (as of a government) 

• Cholesteral: a waxy, fat-like substance C₂₇H₄₆O that is found in the cells, tissues, and body fluids of humans and animals…

• Consumer: one that utilizes economic goods 

• Divest: to deprive or dispossess (oneself) of property (as through government-ordered divestiture) or to sell or give away (investments, property, etc.) 

• Divestiture: the compulsory transfer of title or disposal of assets or interests (such as stock in a corporation) upon government or court order (as in bankruptcy or antitrust enforcement) 

• Federal: of or relating to the central government of a federation as distinguished from the governments of the constituent units 

• Generic: not being or having a particular brand name 

• Manufacture: the act or process of producing something 

• Pharmaceutical: of, relating to, or engaged in pharmacy or the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals or medicinal drugs

• Press Release: an official statement that gives information to newspapers, magazines, television news programs, and radio stations 

• Product: something produced especially: commodity

• Transaction: something transacted especially: an exchange or transfer of goods, services, or funds

---

References 

1. FTC Takes Action to Protect Americans from Higher Drug Costs in Aurobindo, Lannett Deal | Federal Trade Commission 

2. Aurobindo must divest 4 drugs to complete Lannett buyout: FTC 

3. LtrToSEsLnnettPR22062026.pdf 

4. Competition Counts | Federal Trade Commission 

5. About the FTC | Federal Trade Commission 

6. LtrToSEsLnnettPR22062026.pdf 

7. Generic competition and Drug Prices: New Evidence Linking Greater Generic Competition and Lower Generic Drug Prices 

8. Aurobindo acquires US drugmaker Lannett for $250M to bolster 'reshoring' effort 

9. Pharmaceutical Services M&A | Aurobindo Acquires Lannett 

10. Report on the implementation of the United Nations guidelines for consumer protection and of the work of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Consumer Protection Law and Policy