72178 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices 

8See Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report 

for 2011 (2013), at Tables 2B—2E, available at 

http://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/

reports/federal-trade-commission-cigarette-report2011/130521cigarettereport.pdf; Federal Trade 

Commission Smokeless Tobacco Report for 2011 

(2013), at Tables 3B—3H, available at http://

www.ftc.gov/reports/federal-trade-commissionsmokeless-tobacco-report-2011. 

9The details and assumptions underlying these 

estimates were set forth in the August 13, 2014 

Federal Register notice. 

10The Commission intends to use this PRA 

clearance renewal to collect information from the 

companies concerning their marketing and sales 

activities for the years 2014, 2015, and 2016. The 

Commission expects to issue compulsory process 

orders seeking this information annually, but it is 

possible that orders might not be issued in any 

given year and that orders seeking information for 

two years would be issued the next year. The 

figures set forth in this notice for the estimated 

hours and labor costs associated with this 

information collection represent average annual 

burden over the course of the prospective PRA 

clearance. 

11 In particular, the written request for 

confidential treatment that accompanies the 

comment must include the factual and legal basis 

for the request, and must identify the specific 

portions of the comment to be withheld from the 

public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). 

The Commission has collected and 

reported data on transit advertising 

(currently defined as ‘‘advertising on or 

within private or public vehicles and all 

advertisements placed at, on or within 

any bus stop, taxi stand, transportation 

waiting area, train station, airport or any 

other transportation facility’’) for 

decades. However, the 1998 Tobacco 

Master Settlement Agreement 

prohibited transit advertising, and the 

major cigarette manufacturers have 

reported no such spending since 2000, 

while the major smokeless tobacco 

companies have never reported any 

transit spending.8

Burden Statement: 9

Estimated Annual Burden: 2,100 

hours.10

Estimated Number of Respondents: 15 

maximum. 

The estimated number of respondents 

include any time spent by separately 

incorporated subsidiaries and other 

entities affiliated with the ultimate 

parent company that has received the 

information request. 

Estimated Average Burden per Year 

per Respondent: 140 hours. 

(a) Information requests to the five 

largest cigarette companies and five 

largest smokeless tobacco companies, at 

a per company average each year of 180 

hours = 1,800 hours, cumulatively, per 

year; and 

(b) Information requests to five 

additional respondents, of smaller size, 

at a per company average each year of 

60 hours = 300 hours, cumulatively, per 

year. 

Estimated Annual Labor Cost: 

$210,000. 

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor 

Cost: de minimis. 

Request for Comment: 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. For the FTC to consider your 

comment, we must receive it on or 

before January 5, 2015. Write ‘‘Tobacco 

Reports: Paperwork Comment, FTC File 

No. P054507’’ on your comment. Your 

comment—including your name and 

your state—will be placed on the public 

record of this proceeding, including, to 

the extent practicable, on the public 

Commission Web site, at http://

www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. 

As a matter of discretion, the 

Commission tries to remove individuals’ 

home contact information from 

comments before placing them on the 

Commission Web site. 

Because your comment will be made 

public, you are solely responsible for 

making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive personal 

information, like anyone’s Social 

Security number, date of birth, driver’s 

license number or other state 

identification number or foreign country 

equivalent, passport number, financial 

account number, or credit or debit card 

number. You are also solely responsible 

for making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive health 

information, like medical records or 

other individually identifiable health 

information. In addition, do not include 

any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or 

financial information which is obtained 

from any person and which is privileged 

or confidential . . ., ’’ as provided in 

Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 

4.10(a)(2). If you want the Commission 

to give your comment confidential 

treatment, you must file it in paper 

form, with a request for confidential 

treatment, and you have to follow the 

procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 

16 CFR 4.9(c).11 Your comment will be 

kept confidential only if the FTC 

General Counsel grants your request in 

accordance with the law and the public 

interest. 

Postal mail addressed to the 

Commission is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening. As a 

result, we encourage you to submit your 

comments online, or to send them to the 

Commission by courier or overnight 

service. To make sure that the 

Commission considers your online 

comment, you must file it at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/

tobaccoreportspra2 by following the 

instructions on the web-based form. If 

this Notice appears at http://

www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also 

may file a comment through that Web 

site. 

If you file your comment on paper, 

write ‘‘Tobacco Reports: Paperwork 

Comment, FTC File No. P054507’’ on 

your comment and on the envelope, and 

mail it to the following address: Federal 

Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Suite CC–5610 (Annex J), 

Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th 

Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 

(Annex J), Washington, DC 20024. If 

possible, submit your paper comment to 

the Commission by courier or overnight 

service. 

The FTC Act and other laws that the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives on or 

before January 5, 2015. For information 

on the Commission’s privacy policy, 

including routine uses permitted by the 

Privacy Act, see http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/ 

privacy.htm. For supporting 

documentation and other information 

underlying the PRA discussion in this 

Notice, see http://www.reginfo.gov/

public/jsp/PRA/praDashboard.jsp. 

Comments on the information 

collection requirements subject to 

review under the PRA should 

additionally be submitted to OMB. If 

sent by U.S. mail, they should be 

addressed to Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, Attention: 

Desk Officer for the Federal Trade 

Commission, New Executive Office 

Building, Docket Library, Room 10102, 

725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 

20503. Comments sent to OMB by U.S. 

postal mail, however, are subject to 

delays due to heightened security 

precautions. Thus, comments instead 

should be sent by facsimile to (202) 

395–5806. 

David C. Shonka, 

Principal Deputy General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28597 Filed 12–4–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

[File No. 141 0141] 

GlaxoSmithKline, PLC and Novartis 

AG; Analysis of Proposed Consent 

Orders To Aid Public Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed Consent Agreement. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices 72179 

1 In particular, the written request for confidential 

treatment that accompanies the comment must 

include the factual and legal basis for the request, 

and must identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public record. See 

FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). 

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this 

matter settles alleged violations of 

federal law prohibiting unfair methods 

of competition. The attached Analysis to 

Aid Public Comment describes both the 

allegations in the draft complaint and 

the terms of the consent orders— 

embodied in the consent agreement— 

that would settle these allegations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 29, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a 

comment at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/

gsknovartisconsent online or on paper, 

by following the instructions in the 

Request for Comment part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Write ‘‘GlaxoSmithKline, PLC 

and Novartis AG—Consent Agreement; 

File No. 141–01414’’ on your comment 

and file your comment online at 

https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/

ftc/gsknovartisconsent by following the 

instructions on the Web-based form. If 

you prefer to file your comment on 

paper, write ‘‘GlaxoSmithKline, PLC 

and Novartis AG—Consent Agreement; 

File No. 141–01414’’ on your comment 

and on the envelope, and mail your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Suite CC–5610 (Annex D), 

Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th 

Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 

(Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Silvia, Bureau of Competition, 

(202–326–3291), 600 Pennsylvania 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is 

hereby given that the above-captioned 

consent agreement containing consent 

orders to cease and desist, having been 

filed with and accepted, subject to final 

approval, by the Commission, has been 

placed on the public record for a period 

of thirty (30) days. The following 

Analysis to Aid Public Comment 

describes the terms of the consent 

agreement, and the allegations in the 

complaint. An electronic copy of the 

full text of the consent agreement 

package can be obtained from the FTC 

Home Page (for November 26, 2014), on 

the World Wide Web, at http://

www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. For the Commission to consider 

your comment, we must receive it on or 

before December 29, 2014. Write 

‘‘GlaxoSmithKline, PLC and Novartis 

AG—Consent Agreement; File No. 141– 

01414’’ on your comment. Your 

comment—including your name and 

your state—will be placed on the public 

record of this proceeding, including, to 

the extent practicable, on the public 

Commission Web site, at http://

www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. 

As a matter of discretion, the 

Commission tries to remove individuals’ 

home contact information from 

comments before placing them on the 

Commission Web site. 

Because your comment will be made 

public, you are solely responsible for 

making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive personal 

information, like anyone’s Social 

Security number, date of birth, driver’s 

license number or other state 

identification number or foreign country 

equivalent, passport number, financial 

account number, or credit or debit card 

number. You are also solely responsible 

for making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive health 

information, like medical records or 

other individually identifiable health 

information. In addition, do not include 

any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or 

financial information which . . . is 

privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed 

in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 

4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include 

competitively sensitive information 

such as costs, sales statistics, 

inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 

manufacturing processes, or customer 

names. 

If you want the Commission to give 

your comment confidential treatment, 

you must file it in paper form, with a 

request for confidential treatment, and 

you have to follow the procedure 

explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 

4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept 

confidential only if the FTC General 

Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, 

grants your request in accordance with 

the law and the public interest. 

Postal mail addressed to the 

Commission is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening. As a 

result, we encourage you to submit your 

comments online. To make sure that the 

Commission considers your online 

comment, you must file it at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/

gsknovartisconsent by following the 

instructions on the Web-based form. If 

this Notice appears at http://

www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also 

may file a comment through that Web 

site. 

If you file your comment on paper, 

write ‘‘GlaxoSmithKline, PLC and 

Novartis AG—Consent Agreement; File 

No. 141–01414’’ on your comment and 

on the envelope, and mail your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW., Suite CC–5610 (Annex D), 

Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your 

comment to the following address: 

Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 

Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th 

Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 

(Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. If 

possible, submit your paper comment to 

the Commission by courier or overnight 

service. 

Visit the Commission Web site at 

http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice 

and the news release describing it. The 

FTC Act and other laws that the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives on or 

before December 29, 2014. You can find 

more information, including routine 

uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 

the Commission’s privacy policy, at 

http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. 

Analysis of Agreement Containing 

Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment 

I. Introduction 

The Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted, subject to 

final approval, an Agreement 

Containing Consent Orders (‘‘Consent 

Agreement’’) from Novartis AG 

(‘‘Novartis’’), which is designed to 

remedy the anticompetitive effects of 

Novartis’s proposed consumer 

healthcare joint venture with 

GlaxoSmithKline, PLC (‘‘GSK’’). 

The proposed Consent Agreement has 

been placed on the public record for 

thirty days for receipt of comments from 

interested persons. Comments received 

during this period will become part of 

the public record. After thirty days, the 

Commission will again evaluate the 

proposed Consent Agreement, along 

with the comments received, in order to 

make a final decision as to whether it 

should withdraw from the proposed 

Consent Agreement, modify it, or make 

final the Decision and Order (‘‘Order’’). 

Pursuant to a series of agreements 

dated April 22, 2014, GSK and Novartis 

intend to combine the GSK consumer 

healthcare business and most of the 

Novartis consumer healthcare business 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
72180 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices 

(excluding Novartis’s nicotine 

replacement therapy (‘‘NRT’’) 

transdermal patch business) into a joint 

venture in which GSK will hold a 

63.5% controlling share and Novartis 

will hold the remaining 36.5% share 

(the ‘‘Transaction’’). Both parties sell 

over-the-counter (‘‘OTC’’) NRT 

transdermal patches in the United 

States. The Commission alleges in its 

Complaint that the Transaction, if 

consummated, would violate Section 7 

of the Clayton Act, as amended, 15 

U.S.C. 18, and Section 5 of the Federal 

Trade Commission Act, as amended, 15 

U.S.C. 45, by lessening competition in 

the market for the manufacture, 

marketing, distribution, and sale of NRT 

transdermal patches. The proposed 

Consent Agreement will remedy the 

alleged violations by preserving the 

competition that would otherwise be 

eliminated by the Transaction. 

Specifically, under the terms of the 

Consent Agreement, Novartis would be 

required to divest all of its rights and 

assets related to U.S. NRT transdermal 

patches, including its branded product, 

Habitrol. Novartis has proposed Dr. 

Reddy’s Laboratories (‘‘Dr. Reddy’s’’) as 

the buyer of these assets. 

II. The Product and Structure of the 

Market 

The proposed joint venture would 

likely substantially increase 

concentration in the market for NRT 

transdermal patches. Tobacco 

consumption introduces nicotine into 

the body, and nicotine addiction is a 

major contributor to addiction to 

tobacco. Nicotine replacement therapies 

work by providing nicotine to the body 

through sources other than smoking, 

thereby replacing the nicotine that 

would have come from tobacco and 

helping to ease tobacco cravings in 

those who are attempting to quit. Users 

of NRT products are therefore more 

likely to have success in quitting 

tobacco. NRT transdermal patches work 

by adhering to the skin, much like an 

adhesive bandage, and slowly providing 

a steady amount of nicotine through the 

skin over the course of a day. Patches 

are usually provided in decreasing 

dosages to help the user step down their 

nicotine intake over time. 

Novartis markets and sells the 

branded NRT transdermal patch 

Habitrol. The only other branded patch 

is GSK’s NicoDerm CQ. Both companies 

also market private label versions of 

their branded patch. Private label 

products are competitive with the 

branded products, but there is only one 

other manufacturer of private label 

patches, Aveva Drug Delivery Systems. 

Therefore, without a remedy, the 

Transaction will consolidate the only 

two providers of branded NRT 

transdermal patches, and two of the 

three producers of private label NRT 

transdermal patches. 

III. Entry 

Entry into the manufacture and sale of 

NRT transdermal patches would not be 

timely, likely, or sufficient in 

magnitude, character, and scope to deter 

or counteract the anticompetitive effects 

of the Transaction. Developing a patch 

that adheres to the skin and properly 

delivers nicotine to the body over time 

is expensive and time consuming, and 

has a high risk of failure. Even if an 

entrant is able to successfully develop a 

new patch, it must then obtain an FDA 

approval to market the product, which 

adds several years to the entry process. 

IV. Effects 

The Transaction is likely to result in 

significant competitive harm in the 

market for NRT transdermal patches. 

Although the Novartis NRT patch 

business has been excluded from the 

consumer healthcare joint venture, 

GSK’s patch business will be included. 

Thus, Novartis’s partial interest in the 

joint venture means it will benefit from 

any sales lost to GSK NRT patches in 

the future. With an interest in its most 

significant competing product, Novartis 

would have an increased incentive to 

raise prices for its NRT patches posttransaction. The Transaction, by altering 

the interactions between Novartis’s and 

GSK’s branded and private label NRT 

transdermal patches, would likely result 

in price increases for NRT patches in 

several ways. First, the Transaction 

would reduce the competition between 

the only two branded NRT transdermal 

patches, and reduce the competition 

between Novartis’s branded Habitrol 

product and GSK’s private label 

patches, both of which would increase 

the likelihood that Novartis would 

increase the prices of Habitrol. Second, 

the Transaction would reduce the 

competition between Novartis’s private 

label patches and GSK’s NicoDerm CQ 

and private label patches, which would 

create incentives for Novartis to increase 

the price of its private label NRT 

transdermal patches. 

V. The Consent Agreement 

The proposed Consent Agreement 

effectively remedies the Transaction’s 

anticompetitive effects in the relevant 

market. Pursuant to the Consent 

Agreement, the parties are required to 

divest Novartis’s rights and assets 

related to its U.S. NRT transdermal 

patch business to Dr. Reddy’s. Further, 

the proposed Consent Agreement 

requires Novartis to assign to Dr. 

Reddy’s its contract manufacturing 

agreements for the divested assets. 

Finally, Novartis will provide a short 

term packaging agreement to Dr. 

Reddy’s for secondary packaging of the 

product while Dr. Reddy’s seeks a 

contract packager. The parties must 

accomplish these divestitures and 

relinquish their rights no later than ten 

days after the Transaction is 

consummated. 

Dr. Reddy’s is well positioned to 

assume Novartis’s role in the NRT 

transdermal patch market. Dr. Reddy’s 

manufactures a wide range of branded 

and private label OTC products for sale 

in the United States, including private 

label versions of popular allergy and 

gastrointestinal products. Thus, Dr. 

Reddy’s is already a supplier to most 

major retailers of OTC consumer 

healthcare products. In addition, 

because Novartis will be transferring its 

existing contract manufacturing 

arrangement for its NRT transdermal 

patches, the divestiture to Dr. Reddy’s 

will not require a transfer of 

manufacturing processes or facilities. 

Dr. Reddy’s will therefore be able to step 

into Novartis’s current position and 

immediately begin competing in the 

market for NRT transdermal patches. 

The Commission’s goal in evaluating 

possible purchasers of divested assets is 

to maintain the competitive 

environment that existed prior to the 

Transaction. If the Commission 

determines that Dr. Reddy’s is not an 

acceptable acquirer of the divested 

assets, or that the manner of the 

divestiture is not acceptable, the parties 

must unwind the sale of rights to Dr. 

Reddy’s, and divest the U.S. NRT 

transdermal patch assets to a 

Commission-approved acquirer within 

six months of the date the Order 

becomes final. In that circumstance, the 

Commission may appoint a trustee to 

divest the product if the parties fail to 

divest the business as required. 

The proposed Consent Agreement 

contains several provisions to help 

ensure that the divestiture is successful. 

The Order requires Novartis to take all 

action necessary to maintain the 

economic viability, marketability, and 

competitiveness of the product to be 

divested until such time that they are 

transferred to a Commission-approved 

acquirer. The Order also requires that 

Novartis transfer all confidential 

business information, including 

customer information related to the 

divestiture product, to Dr. Reddy’s. 

The purpose of this analysis is to 

facilitate public comment on the 

proposed Consent Agreement, and it is 

not intended to constitute an official 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2014 / Notices 72181 

1 In particular, the written request for confidential 

treatment that accompanies the comment must 

include the factual and legal basis for the request, 

and must identify the specific portions of the 

comment to be withheld from the public record. See 

FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). 

interpretation of the proposed Order or 

to modify its terms in any way. 

By direction of the Commission. 

Donald S. Clark, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28605 Filed 12–4–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

[File No. 141 0187] 

Medtronic, Inc. and Covidien plc; 

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order 

To Aid Public Comment 

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement. 

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this 

matter settles alleged violations of 

federal law prohibiting unfair methods 

of competition. The attached Analysis to 

Aid Public Comment describes both the 

allegations in the draft complaint and 

the terms of the consent order— 

embodied in the consent agreement— 

that would settle these allegations. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 29, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a 

comment at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/

covidienmedtronicconsent online or on 

paper, by following the instructions in 

the Request for Comment part of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

below. Write ‘‘Medtronic and 

Covidien—Consent Agreement; File No. 

141 0187’’ on your comment and file 

your comment online at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/

covidienmedtronicconsent by following 

the instructions on the web-based form. 

If you prefer to file your comment on 

paper, write ‘‘Medtronic and Covidien— 

Consent Agreement; File No. 141 0187’’ 

on your comment and on the envelope, 

and mail your comment to the following 

address: Federal Trade Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC– 

5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, 

or deliver your comment to the 

following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 

5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), 

Washington, DC 20024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christine E. Tasso, Bureau of 

Competition, (202–326–2232), 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20580. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 

FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is 

hereby given that the above-captioned 

consent agreement containing consent 

order to cease and desist, having been 

filed with and accepted, subject to final 

approval, by the Commission, has been 

placed on the public record for a period 

of thirty (30) days. The following 

Analysis to Aid Public Comment 

describes the terms of the consent 

agreement, and the allegations in the 

complaint. An electronic copy of the 

full text of the consent agreement 

package can be obtained from the FTC 

Home Page (for November 26, 2014), on 

the World Wide Web, at http://

www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. 

You can file a comment online or on 

paper. For the Commission to consider 

your comment, we must receive it on or 

before December 29, 2014. Write 

‘‘Medtronic and Covidien—Consent 

Agreement; File No. 141 0187’’ on your 

comment. Your comment—including 

your name and your state—will be 

placed on the public record of this 

proceeding, including, to the extent 

practicable, on the public Commission 

Web site, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/

publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of 

discretion, the Commission tries to 

remove individuals’ home contact 

information from comments before 

placing them on the Commission Web 

site. 

Because your comment will be made 

public, you are solely responsible for 

making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive personal 

information, like anyone’s Social 

Security number, date of birth, driver’s 

license number or other state 

identification number or foreign country 

equivalent, passport number, financial 

account number, or credit or debit card 

number. You are also solely responsible 

for making sure that your comment does 

not include any sensitive health 

information, like medical records or 

other individually identifiable health 

information. In addition, do not include 

any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or 

financial information which . . . is 

privileged or confidential,’’ as discussed 

in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 

46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 

4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include 

competitively sensitive information 

such as costs, sales statistics, 

inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, 

manufacturing processes, or customer 

names. 

If you want the Commission to give 

your comment confidential treatment, 

you must file it in paper form, with a 

request for confidential treatment, and 

you have to follow the procedure 

explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 

4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept 

confidential only if the FTC General 

Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, 

grants your request in accordance with 

the law and the public interest. 

Postal mail addressed to the 

Commission is subject to delay due to 

heightened security screening. As a 

result, we encourage you to submit your 

comments online. To make sure that the 

Commission considers your online 

comment, you must file it at https://

ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/

covidienmedtronicconsent by following 

the instructions on the web-based form. 

If this Notice appears at http://

www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also 

may file a comment through that Web 

site. 

If you file your comment on paper, 

write ‘‘Medtronic and Covidien— 

Consent Agreement; File No. 141 0187’’ 

on your comment and on the envelope, 

and mail your comment to the following 

address: Federal Trade Commission, 

Office of the Secretary, 600 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC– 

5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, 

or deliver your comment to the 

following address: Federal Trade 

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 

Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 

5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), 

Washington, DC 20024. If possible, 

submit your paper comment to the 

Commission by courier or overnight 

service. 

Visit the Commission Web site at 

http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice 

and the news release describing it. The 

FTC Act and other laws that the 

Commission administers permit the 

collection of public comments to 

consider and use in this proceeding as 

appropriate. The Commission will 

consider all timely and responsive 

public comments that it receives on or 

before December 29, 2014. You can find 

more information, including routine 

uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 

the Commission’s privacy policy, at 

http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. 

Analysis of Agreement Containing 

Consent Order To Aid Public Comment 

The Federal Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) has accepted from 

Medtronic, Inc. (‘‘Medtronic’’) and 

Covidien plc (‘‘Covidien’’), subject to 

final approval, an Agreement 

Containing Consent Order (‘‘Consent 

Agreement’’) designed to remedy the 

anticompetitive effects resulting from 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES